The Time Traveler's Burden
by leafhouse
Summary: During the Battle of Hogwarts, Hermione is hit by a rogue curse that sends her to the Marauders' era. How will she change the future for the better? Will she allow herself to fall for Sirius? Sirius/Hermione Time Travel, James/Lily, Remus/OC
1. Glacialis Tempore

**A/N:** Hello readers! This is my first fanfic that I have ever written and published so I am quite nervous as to the reaction I will get (if I get any readers at all haha). I hope that it is to your liking. This is going to be a Sirius/Hermione time travel fic. I am going to try my hardest to make it as original and interesting as possible. Enjoy!

******A/N (July 19, 2011): **Okay, so I'm a failure at life. I've been reading through many of these chapters and have realized that Hermione fighting by herself isn't canonically possible, seeing that she is with Ron or Harry most of the time. So, I realized that I was in a bit of a pickle and got extremely stressed out. So, in order to make this possible, I am taking after the movie here and pretending that this happened right after Harry "comes back to life" and BEFORE Hermione and Ron go off searching for the snake. I have added a few extra sentences here or there that will support this new approach. Please forgive my giant fail; I would have edited it so that it occurred at a different time but then that would have messed everything up. 

**Disclaimer:** I have cried myself to sleep many a time due to the small fact that I do not own the Harry Potter book series.

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**The Time Traveler's Burden**

**Chapter 1 - Glacialis Tempore**

Falling debris cascaded down on members of the Order of the Phoenix and students alike as they fought for their lives under the starry night sky. Jets of brightly colored spells whizzed threateningly through the air, some missing their mark, while others directly met their targets.

Death Eaters and Dark creatures swarmed through the wreckage that once was the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts. The dead and injured count grew with every passing minute.

In the middle of the mêlée was a sizable blonde Death Eater. Curses shot out of his wand faster than anyone could keep up with. He did not seem to be battling anyone; he was simply brandishing his wand and shouting out Dark curses in the hopes that they would hit an enemy.

Hermione Granger was fighting like her life depended on it – which it quite literally did. The speed upon which curses were flying from her mouth was only rivaled by that of the yellow haired Death Eater. Unlike her enemy, Hermione's spells were hitting their target every time. Death Eaters were dropping at her feet Immobilized and Stunned almost too fast to keep up with.

Screams came from Hermione's left. Hermione spun towards that direction and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!" Death Eater Scabior's legs and arms snapped together immediately.

"Thanks, Hermione!" said Parvati Patil, who had been fighting him. Hermione could only spare her a nod as she rushed on through bodies, some running, some limping, while others lay stationary on the floor. Hurt or dead, Hermione couldn't tell. She prayed to every god she knew that all of her friends were safe.

Thoughts were buzzing so fast through Hermione's head that she could barely keep up with what was happening as she skirted duelists. She knew she needed to find Harry and Ron, and quick, but she couldn't bear to leave her friends and classmates fighting Death Eaters without her help. She would never forgive herself if one of them died when an able bodied person like herself was there to protect them. However, her heart rammed in her chest as she came to terms with the fact that Harry was indeed _alive_, and probably attempting to fight Voldemort at this very moment. She also felt uncontrollable fear for Ron, who had ran through the battling crowd and to the Grand Staircase.

"Crucio!" she heard the blonde Death Eater yell. She ducked, pulling down the two fighters nearest with her before bounding forth again.

"Avada- " Hermione heard a Death Eater begin, his wand trained on Luna Lovegood.

"Impedimenta!" Hermione yelled with wild abandon, her heart pounding in her ears. The force of her spell knocked the Death Eater backwards, causing his mask to fall off.

"Yaxley," she snarled as she turned away from the unconscious Death Eater. She paused her fighting to assure herself that Luna was unhurt.

It all happened suddenly.

"Glacialis tempore!" The blonde Death Eater yelled, a crazed look in his eyes, his wand pointed directly at Hermione.

There was nothing she could do. A fiery, electric blue stream of light erupted from his wand. The Death Eater looked amazed at the effect his spell was creating, not realizing what the result would be on its victim. The curse flew at Hermione, hitting her directly in the chest.

The last thing she saw was the frenzied look on the Death Eater's face and Luna's expression of terror before her vision went black.

* * *

"Padfoot, you git, can you slow down? The kitchen isn't going anywhere, you know. And the cloak doesn't fully cover our feet so if McGonagall sees two pairs of rogue feet floating around she'll somehow pin it back to us." James Potter whispered feverishly to his best friend, Sirius Black. He and Sirius were carefully inching their way to the kitchens in hopes of getting a midnight snack.

"Prongs, do we ever get caught?" Sirius said, a mischievous grin making its way onto his face.

"Good point. Now shush, we have to go through the Entrance Hall and you know Filch likes to lurk this area specifically," James muttered as they slowly made their way across the Hall.

The clock loudly chimed 12:00, causing James to step on Sirius' foot in fright.

Sirius yelped, "Merlin, James!" He knelt down quickly to massage his toes, "That hurt, you bugger!"

"Sorry, mate," James said, trying to fight the smile threatening to make its way onto his face.

James and Sirius were no where near prepared for what came next.

They had resumed their journey across the ornate Hall and were now nearing the center when a ear-piercing, otherworldly noise erupted from the air. A sliver of blue light appeared in the middle of the hall. As the light stretched and lengthened, the sound grew to a painful level.

"Holy shit, Sirius I think we set an alarm off!" James said frantically, attempting to make a run for it. But Sirius gripped James' arm, shaking his head with his mouth agape.

"Prongs, I think something is coming out of the light!" Sirius said loudly, straining to be heard over the din.

James was filled with doubt before turning to look at the light. His eyes widened as he saw what appeared to be an arm, and then a leg, and then an entire human body fall from the cobalt light and land rather painfully on the stone Entrance Hall floor. The sound disappeared as suddenly as it had come, but the solid body laying on the cobblestone remained.

"Bloody hell," Sirius murmured to himself as he and James rushed forward to the body, both in shock at what happened.

Sirius let out an unmanly gasp as he took in the appearance of the girl. Her curly hair was tangled with dried blood hugging many of the chestnut brown tendrils. Her thin sweatshirt and jeans were torn and bloody and every visible part of her body had small cuts or bruises covering the fair skin. But it was her chest that made Sirius feel fear for the girl's life. Crimson blood was seeping through the fabric quite steadily. Sirius was sure that whatever wound was located there had been inflicted only seconds before, but how, he did not know.

James looked at Sirius with uncharacteristically frightened look on his countenance. "Sirius, what do we do? She looks like she's been through battle!" James raked his hands through his messy black hair, his hazel eyes shining with fear.

Sirius made to pick up the girl, but thought better of it. "Go fetch Madam Pomfrey and send her down here. Tell her it's urgent. Then get Dumbledore or McGonagall," Sirius ordered quickly. James took off without heed.

Sirius knelt down next to the mysterious, gravely injured girl and took the time to examine her. He noticed she was quite pretty underneath all of the cuts, but shook his head of the thoughts. This was not the time for that. _This girl could be dying_, he thought, his heart rate quickening. He looked over the rest of her body to check if any bones were broken, and noticed that her wrist looked out of place.

Sirius heard a shuffling noise behind him and turned quickly to see Madam Pomfrey flying down the last flight of the Grand Staircase, her loose hair fanning out behind her as she descended the steps. She came to a fast stop in front of Sirius and loudly gasped at the sight of the girl.

She whipped her wand out and speedily conjured a stretcher. Training her wand on the broken girl, the Healer carefully levitated her onto the green stretcher. "Black, follow me," she said in a shaky voice before leading Sirius and the stretcher up the stairs and into the Hospital Wing.

Dumbledore and McGonagall were already there, along with James. Sirius quickly walked over to James, who looked pale. Professor McGonagall almost exclaimed in shock when she saw the girl on the stretcher.

Dumbledore, who had remained silent but looked graver than anyone had ever seen him, spoke, "Poppy, will you be able to save this young lady?"

The nurse, whose face looked tinged with green, said, "I do believe so Albus, but there is still a possibility she may..." Poppy couldn't finish the sentence. She floated the girl to a bed and bustled about rapidly, summoning various vials of brightly colored potions and a plethora of medical instruments. She quickly closed the curtains shut around herself and the girl and went to work.

Dumbledore uncharacteristically sighed and conjured four cushioned chairs, "It is going to be a long night, I am afraid. Minerva, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, you are more than welcome to stay if you like, but I understand if you would rather return to your rooms." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled momentarily in the direction of the two Marauders, since he knew they must have been up to something in order to have found the unknown girl at this time of night.

James and Sirius smiled slightly at the Headmaster. James spoke up, "We'll stay until she awakes, Professor." The two took a seat. McGonagall sat down as well.

Dumbledore looked at the two boys before inquiring, "Can you two be so kind as to tell me how you happened upon the girl?"

James and Sirius launched into their tale, unabashedly telling Dumbledore of their plans to go the kitchens, finishing with the girl falling from the mysterious, blinding blue light.

Dumbledore had remained silent throughout their recanting of the scenario, a far off look on his face. The boys could tell her was deep in thought, and left him to his own devices. Instead, they settled into their chairs and prepared for a night of waiting.

It was a quarter past three when Madam Pomfrey finished attending to the girl. McGonagall was slumped sideways in her chair, her hair unravelling from the bun she had quickly pulled it into. James and Sirius were leaning on each other's shoulders, attempting to stay awake. Dumbledore hadn't moved at all, his face a mask of worry.

Madam Pomfrey sent all of her supplies back to her office before speaking, "Professor, I believe she is going to pull through just fine."

Dumbledore's face immediately brightened, "That is excellent to hear, Poppy!" James and Sirius were suddenly alert as McGonagall rubbed sleep from her eyes. Dumbledore continued, "To what extent were her injuries?"

Madam Pomfrey answered, "She had a broken wrist, three fractured ribs, and various cuts and contusions. There was an abnormal wound on her chest that I would say was the work of Dark magic." At this, Dumbledore's eyes darkened. The nurse continued, "I managed to patch it up but not without the help of a few ancient healing charms and potions I have never used. She has many scars, but most seem healed or the process of healing. Many of them appear to be the product of more Dark magic. She had an odd one on the front of her neck, as if a knife had been held there momentarily." She finished her report, wringing her hands as she recounted the state the poor girl was in.

Dumbledore nodded grimly. "She seems to have been through quite an ordeal. Did you give her any sleeping potion?"

Madam Pomfrey replied in the affirmative, "Yes, but she seemed to be quite drained of all energy without its help. She didn't awaken once during the whole procedure."

Dumbledore stood up, "Please tell me when she awakes, Poppy. It is most pertinent that I hear her story." He turned to James and Sirius, "I would advise you young men to get some rest. I will allow you two miss classes for tomorrow as well as give you permission to visit our patient. If she awakes in your presence, please fetch me immediately."

James and Sirius nodded, bade the Headmaster good night, and made their way out of the Hospital Wing.

"Wow," James breathed out as they walked out of the Ward, "that girl was in a right bad state. I wonder where she came from."

Sirius nodded in agreement, "I'm sure we'll find out tomorrow." After a pause, he added, "I hope she stays here. She looks like she could use a safe place to stay for a while. She looked like she'd been through Hell and back."

**A/N:** I hope many of you have made it to the end and enjoyed it! Please review with any comments/criticisms/etc. I am more than willing to accept constructive criticism. I promise to update as readily as life will allow me.

~Amanda aka leafhouse


	2. Awakening

**A/N: **Here is the second chapter of _The Time Traveler's Burden_! I'm having such a great time with this story and can't wait to get into the action. Now that Hermione is awake and aware of what happened, things will pick up more. More of the Marauders, more Sirius/Hermione action (although it won't get too serious too fast, I can guarantee that). I want to send out a gigantic 'thank you' to everyone who reviewed, put TTTB on story alert, or simply just read my first attempt at FF. Anyway, on to the chapter!

**Disclaimer: **As much as I wish I did, I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 2 **

Sirius and James managed to sleep through the five alarm clocks that rang exactly at 6:30 a.m...and Remus' attempt at shaking them awake...and Peter's shoddy _Aguamenti_ charm aimed at their faces. It wasn't until eleven in the afternoon that James stirred. He sat up, rubbed his black hair (which was sticking up more haphazardly than usual), and slowly withdrew his legs from the bed.

"Padfoot, get your ass up," He said through a yawn. James heard a muffled sound issue from the direction of Sirius' head. "What was that again Paddy? I didn't quite catch that." When Sirius remained stationary, James picked up his wand from the nightstand and casually flicked his wand at Sirius, saying_ 'Levicorpus!'_ in his head.

"Argghhhh!" Sirius yelled as his body was pulled up and upside down as if pulled by an invisible rope.

"Is this really the best way you could wake me up?" he grumbled, "Let me down James or I'll show Lily all of those bloody sketches you draw of her."

Needless to say, Sirius was let down less than half a second later.

After much grumbling and angry retorts directed at each other, Sirius and James made their way to the Great Hall, where the rest of the school was currently enjoying lunch.

"Where were you guys all day?" Remus questioned sternly before the twosome could sit at the Gryffindor table. "It's not like you two skive off an entire day of lessons."

"Could you stop using your Prefect voice, Moony? Being a prat doesn't suit you." Sirius said as he plopped down at the table and dragged an entire plate of chicken wings in front of him. He sighed happily as he scarfed down a wing.

Before Remus could retort, James answered the question as he dug into his Shepard's Pie, "Sirius and I were out almost the whole night for...reasons we can't disclose just yet. Dumbledore gave us permission to miss class." Sirius nodded quickly in agreement. James wasn't sure if he should tell anyone, even Remus, one of his best mates, about the mysterious girl.

Remus looked skeptical but didn't press the subject. He knew that James and Sirius would tell him what was up eventually.

"Where's Peter?" Sirius said, changing the topic. He had just noticed the absence of the fourth Marauder.

"Studying for our Charms test in the library. I think I'm going to join him. See you guys later," Remus said as he got up and walked out of the Great Hall.

"Hey Sirius, we should go check and see if she's awake," James said.

"If who is awake?" James heard a curious voice inquire from behind him. It was the voice of his dreams and fantasies and she was speaking from right behind him. That beautiful, glorious, sexy-

"-Potter? I'm speaking to you." James snapped out of his reverie. The voice sounded impatient now, and James knew that was never a good sign.

"Evans," James said smoothly, mowing his hand through his hair as he swung his legs over the wooden bench to face Lily Evans. A sly grin made its way onto his face as he said, "How are you doing on this fine afternoon?"

"Potter, either you answer my question or I'm leaving," Lily crossed her arms across her chest and tapped her foot impatiently on the stone floor, her green eyes narrowed.

James got up slowly, nonchalantly pulling Sirius up with him, "Just a friend. No one you know," he said in what he hoped was a casual voice. "We'll see you later, Lily!" Lily opened her mouth to protest but James swiftly got himself and Sirius out of the Great Hall before she could say a word.

"She's gonna be pissed at you, you know? Better watch what you drink at dinner." Sirius commented as they made their way to the Hospital Wing, "Lily can be pretty conniving when she doesn't get the answer she wants. I wouldn't put it past her to put Veritaserum in your evening pumpkin juice."

James just shook his head, "I highly doubt it, Siri. Lily loves me...she just hasn't realized it yet." Sirius just shook his head at his lovesick friend as they rounded the corner of the first floor corridor and pushed open the doors of the Hospital Wing.

"The man you've been waiting for is here!" James said loudly as he bounded into the mostly empty ward. Sirius laughed as Madam Pomfrey appeared seemingly out of nowhere and swatted James with her handkerchief.

"Potter, be quiet! Our patient should be awaking soon and I don't want her waking up to the sounds of your shenanigans!" At these words, James and Sirius rushed over to the bed in the far corner of the Hospital Wing where they knew for a fact the girl was resting.

Madam Pomfrey had removed the curtains from the night before. The girl still looked frail, but her faced had gained some color. Her bushy hair was fanned out on her pillow. Pomfrey had healed all of the minor cuts and bruises that had littered her skin the night before, but a bumpy bandage was visible beneath her thin hospital gown.

"Wow, Poppy. You did a great job. She looks good as new!" Sirius exclaimed, visibly impressed.

"Don't-call-me-Poppy!" Madam Pomfrey said through clenched teeth. Sirius just shot her a smile and turned his attention back to the girl. His smile faded as quickly as it had come when he looked at her. She looked weak and emaciated. Sirius couldn't even begin to imagine what this girl had gone through. Sirius, who had never starved a day in his life or had ever had an injury more serious than a broken arm.

Sirius was shaken from his reverie by James' voice. "She's waking up!" James whispered, nudging Sirius in the arm. They observed her fingers flexing and her arms shifting slightly. Her eyes slowly opened but then shut just as quickly, the sunlight that was seeping in through the window hurting her sensitive eyes. She reopened her eyes, slower this time, feeling disoriented and sore.

Sirius spoke first, "Are you okay?" he said to the her in an uncharacteristically soft voice. She jumped, unaware of the human company she had. She turned her gaze until Sirius and squinted at him, before a look of terrified realization came upon her face. She sat up and swung her legs over the bed quickly – a little too quickly for her fragile state. She yelled out in pain as her sore muscles protested to the movement.

Her yell caught the attention of Madam Pomfrey, who seemingly glided over to the bed in her hurry to reach her patient.

"You two! Go get Professor Dumbledore right this instant!" Pomfrey ordered sternly as she gently but firmly pushed her patient back onto the bed. The girl seemed to shocked into silence as Pomfrey bustled around her, fetching various potions and pouring them down her throat.

Minutes later, Dumbledore appeared at the door and hastened over to the bed. The girl's eyes widened as she took in the sight of her old Headmaster, a man who she had thought to be dead.

She spoke her first words since awakening as Dumbledore settled in a chair next to her, James and Sirius standing behind him with expectant, worried looks on their faces, "Am I dead?" she questioned fearfully, her voice hoarse from lack of use.

Dumbledore smiled softly and answered gently, "No my dear child, you are indeed alive. Why don't you start by telling us your name?"

The girl hesitated. What if this was a trick? What if Voldemort was trying to fool her into giving up information about herself in order to find Harry with this elaborate plan? In the end, she decided that giving up her name couldn't be too dangerous, "Hermione. My name is Hermione Granger."

Dumbledore nodded, "Hello, Hermione. I'm Professor Dumbledore."

"I know," she answered before she could stop herself.

If Dumbledore was puzzled as to how this mysterious girl knew him, he didn't show it. "If you know who I am, you must surely know where we are currently located."

She answered without hesitation, "I'm in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts." By now, Hermione had begun regaining some of her senses and noticed the presence of Sirius again, but this time noticed James as well.

"Holy Merlin," she whispered, her hand clasping over her mouth. How was it that she was in the presence of three people she knew to be long dead? Events begin clicking in her brilliant mind. The Battle of Hogwarts, dodging countless curses, saving Luna from the Killing Curse, a blinding blue light flying directly at her, and darkness. Complete, seemingly never-ending darkness. And now she was here.

Finally, her voice shaking slightly, she asked, "What is today's date, Professor?" Sirius and James looked confused at her question, not knowing why this girl could possibly want to know the date in a situation like this one.

Dumbledore answered slowly, "It is September 16, 1977. School just resumed lessons two weeks ago."

Fear and disbelief coursed through Hermione's veins. _She had gone back in time! _Harry's parents, Sirius, Lupin, and Wormtail would be in their seventh year...Oh, Harry! What was happening in her time? Was Harry dead, had he defeated Voldemort, were all the people she cared about alive or dead? Questions buzzed through Hermione's head, questions that she could not get the answer to in the time she is in. Forcefully pushing the nagging questions away, she regained a semblance of her normal persona. Hermione knew she needed to tell Dumbledore her dilemma, as she was sure he could help.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Hermione said, "Professor, could I please speak to you alone?" She shot an apologetic look at James, Sirius, and Madam Pomfrey.

"Of course," Dumbledore answered. James and Sirius nodded silently in agreement and went to stand outside the door, while Madam Pomfrey made her way into her office.

The Hospital door closed, the sound echoing across the empty room. After a moment of silence, Hermione turned her gaze back to Dumbledore and spoke. "Sir...there's no easy way to say this and I must ask you to hear me out... I'm from the future. Twenty one years to be exact. It was May 2, 1998 only yesterday for me."

Hermione was surprised when Dumbledore showed no sign of surprise at Hermione's confession. On the contrary, he looked as if he had expected the news. His next statement affirmed Hermione's thoughts, "Yes, that is what I believed happened. The real questions are how to get you back home and what to do with you now that you are here."

Hermione had expected the all-knowing Dumbledore to know the answer to her problem. The simple fact that he was as clueless as she was scared Hermione beyond belief. It would probably be months before she would be able to return to her loved ones, if she would ever be able to return at all. They were probably all dead for all she knew.

Stopping herself from spiraling into a pit of unanswerable questions, Hermione pulled herself back to reality. "Professor, what do you suggest I do? I have nowhere to go. My parents are the age I am now. I'm not even sure they're together, seeing as I don't even exist yet," she laughed bitterly, a pained expression on her face.

Dumbledore pondered Hermione for a few brief seconds. "I think it will be safest for you to remain at Hogwarts until I can figure out how to send you back. Although, I fear sending you back. You were in very poor shape when Mr. Potter and Mr. Black discovered you."

"Professor, what exactly happened when they found me?" Hermione asked, biting her lip. Dumbledore briefly explained everything while Hermione listened openmouthed. He finished telling her last nights odd events and allowed Hermione some time to digest everything.

After a moment, Dumbledore spoke again in a soft tone, "Miss Granger, can you tell me how you got here?"

Hermione nodded, feeling numb, "There was a battle in Hogwarts, Light versus Dark. Death Eaters and Dark creatures were...all over the castle, attacking students, members of the Order...and my friends. I got hit with a spell and then I woke up here. The incantation was...why can't I remember it?" she said the last part to herself, incredulous that she couldn't remember the most important part of it all.

Dumbledore's shock was apparent now. "Death Eaters in Hogwarts? How? No, do not answer that. It is important that I not discover any future occurrences unless what I fear is true."

"What do you fear?" Hermione questioned, unnerved by the seriousness of the Headmaster's tone.

"I will tell you when I put more thought into the many theories I have in my brain. Until then, I think it would be best for you to live at Hogwarts as a student. You appear to be school age still."

"I'm eighteen years old right now but my birthday is on the nineteenth. I missed my seventh year of schooling to fight in the war though," Hermione said absently while internally struggling to accept that she was in 1977 discussing her schooling while her friends were fighting for their lives in the distant future.

Sensing her detachment from the discussion, Dumbledore decided it would be best to conclude it soon, "Would you like to be re-Sorted or would you prefer to return to your original House?" he asked her.

Hermione thought this over. If she allowed herself to be re-Sorted, she would probably be put into Ravenclaw like the Hat had originally planned. But if she went back into Gryffindor, she would have to see the cheerful faces of James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily everyday, all oblivious to their impending fates. She would have to encounter the traitorous Wormtail and fight her instinct to hex him into next year. Hermione weighed her choices carefully before answering, "I'll go into my original House. Gryffindor." She smiled for the first time since her arrival in 1977. She would be going back home. Her House was essentially her only home now. Maybe the presence of the Marauders (minus Peter) and Lily would be a comfort in this alien time period.

Dumbledore nodded and stood up, a small smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, "Great choice. I will take it upon myself to set up an extra bed in the 7th year girls' dormitory as well as purchase the correct supplies for you. Do you think you will be well enough to attend classes on Monday?"

Hermione nodded vigorously. If it was one thing she was looking forward to, it was resuming her education.

Dumbledore let out a amused chuckle at her reaction and walked towards the tall door of the Hospital Wing. His hand on the door handle, he turned. "I'll send James and Sirius in to escort you up to Gryffindor Tower."

Hermione gulped. If it was one thing she wasn't looking forward to, it was keeping her composure around her best friend's dead father and godfather.

**A/N:** Thanks for reading! Please leave a review with any thoughts/comments/etc.

~Amanda aka leafhouse


	3. Meeting the Marauders

**A/N: **I'm on an updating high right now and couldn't wait to post the third chapter. Thanks to everyone who put the story on alert/favorited/etc. Please review! It motivates me to update more quickly and gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling (not that you needed to know that). Even if it's criticism, any review is good. Okay, now that I got that off my chest, on to the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 3 – Meeting the Marauders

Hermione had less than a second to steel herself for what was to come before James and Sirius skipped into the room and over to her bed.

"Hello my fair lady," Sirius bowed, "We are here to deliver you to the Gryffindor Common Room. I am Sirius Black of the Noble House of Gryffindor and this dolt is James Potter."

A smile crossed Hermione's thin face, "Deliver me? What am I, a letter and you my owls?"

"That sounds accurate," James grinned. "Now get up...what did you say your name was again?"

"Her name is Hermione, you tosser," Sirius answered before Hermione could even open her mouth. She sent him a small smile and, to his surprise, Sirius felt his stomach flip.

James sent Sirius a sly smile, "Okay, _Hermione_, now get up. Come on, up and at 'em!"

"Um, I haven't any proper clothes. I just have this hospital gown," Hermione said shyly, avoiding eye contact with the two boys.

James and Sirius stood there stupidly, sputtering and muttering incoherent words, while Madam Pomfrey, as if summoned, glided out of her office with a pile of clothes in her arms.

"I thought you'd be needing these," she said kindly to the blushing girl. Hermione accepted the robes gratefully.

James was first to slightly regain his smooth demeanor, "We'll just leave you to it, then," he said lamely. Sirius had stopped his sputtering but still stood there quietly in fear of saying something stupid.

Hermione smiled to James before closing the Hospital curtains around herself. She changed quickly, excited at the prospect of leaving the Hospital Wing she had been in far too many times. Hermione could hear Sirius and James whispering outside of the curtains, but when she pulled them open, they stopped abruptly.

She raised an eyebrow at them but didn't question their actions. "I'm ready," she said instead, and began leading the way out of the Hospital Wing.

They walked to the Common Room in silence until James spoke up, "Hermione, if you don't mind us asking...what exactly happened? How did you get here?"

Hermione froze. She couldn't possibly tell them the truth. If she did, she knew they would want to know about themselves and would probably be successful in weaseling out the truth about their terrible fates. Thinking fast, she told them a half-truth, "Well, there was a terrible fight going on where I was. I was hit with a spell that sent me here, to safety. I guess the spell didn't work correctly and I was hurt in the process. It wouldn't be safe for me to go back there so Professor Dumbledore is letting me stay here for the time being."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sirius said grimly. James nodded in agreement. "Where were you from?"

"Around Scotland. Not too far from here," Hermione answered in a vague tone. She almost laughed at the irony of it all. The battle had been happening only a few floors below them...only twenty one years into the future.

They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady only seconds later. "This is the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room. You just have to tell the Fat Lady the password to be let in," James explained to Hermione. She held back the involuntary urge to giggle at this whole situation and arranged her face in a surprised expression. Hermione could have sworn she saw Sirius eye her in a puzzled manner but brushed it off.

"C_aput draconis_," James said clearly. The portrait swung open to admit them into the Common Room. Hermione almost sighed in relief as they entered the room. It looked just as she remembered it; the same cushiony chairs and couches, the same portraits, and the same roaring, comforting fire. The Common Room was almost entirely empty, seeing as everyone was attending their last class of the day. However, there was a boy vacating the couch.

At the sound of the portrait door creaking open, the boy's head snapped up. Hermione almost gasped in surprise at the sight of him. He had dusty brown hair and golden brown eyes. His skin was slightly scarred but smoother than Hermione had ever seen it. He was obviously a much younger, much healthier Remus Lupin.

Not seeing Hermione, who had entered behind the two taller boys, Remus stood up in a huff and stormed over to James and Sirius.

"Where have you to been? Lily said you went to go visit someone in the hospital but neither of us believed that bullshit story," Remus said heatedly, slightly mad at his two best friends for deserting him all day.

James put a hand on Remus' shoulder, "Mate, we were telling Lily the truth. We wouldn't abandon you if we didn't have an important reason." Sirius nodded quickly.

Remus crossed his arms, "Where is this person then?"

Sirius pushed Hermione forward and presented her with a flourish, "Here she is!" Hermione almost tripped on the carpet but was steadied by James. "Thanks," she murmured before turning to Remus and holding a hand out, "I'm Hermione," she offered.

Remus stared at her openmouthed for a moment, shocked that Sirius and James had actually been truthful, before reaching out and accepting her hand. "I'm Remus," he said almost bashfully. She just laughed, thinking that Lupin hadn't changed a bit.

Hermione's hand was wrenched from Remus' as Sirius pulled her over to the couch, where James was already sitting, setting up a game of Exploding Snap.

"Are you a transfer student?" Remus asked Hermione as he made himself comfortable on the couch across from her.

Hermione nodded, decided that her role as a transfer student would be her safest bet at being discreet in Hogwarts. She launched into an entirely fabricated story about her attendance at Salem Witch Institute in America before she decided to transfer to Hogwarts for her last year. Thankfully, James and Sirius stayed silent her true reasons for being here.

They had all embarked on a raucous game of Exploding Snap before the portrait door swung open again. A girl with long auburn hair and almond shaped green eyes entered, her eyes trained on the thick book she carried in her arms. Hermione knew almost immediately that she was looking at Harry's mother.

Lily's head snapped up as she became aware of the loud noises being emitted from both the game cards and the Marauders. She opened her mouth to reprimand them before noticing Hermione.

She approached the couches. "Hi...are you new here? I've never seen you before." Before Hermione could answer, the boys noticed Lily's appearance.

"I see you met our new friend. She just transferred here," Sirius said lazily to Lily, his arm draping casually around Hermione. Hermione flushed a bit but tried to mask it. "This is Hermione."

Lily glared at Sirius before turning to Hermione. Holding out a hand, she introduced herself, "I'm Lily Evans. I can show you to our dormitory if you like. I doubt these buffoons," she indicated James and Sirius, "even showed you where they are at." James looked affronted at being called a buffoon, holding at hand to his heart rather unmanly. Sirius just rolled his eyes and grinned.

Hermione nodded and got to her feet. "I'll see you guys later," she said to the three boys. They all nodded and resumed their game of Exploding Snap, James still fighting to get the dismayed look off his face. As the two girl mounted the stairs, they heard Sirius remark, "Prongs, close your mouth, you look like an idiot."

Hermione was pleased to see that the girls' dormitories hadn't changed much either. She felt a surge of gratitude for Dumbledore as she caught sight of a trunk at the end of her bed, with a pile of clothes folded neatly atop the bed along with a stack of newly purchased books. Lily smiled at Hermione's apparent glee as she approached her bed and stroked the front cover of her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook.

"I'm glad someone else has a love for books as strong as mine," Lily spoke up. Hermione turned and smiled at Lily.

"Me too. All of my friends detested studying," Hermione said sadly. The thought of her friends made her heart clench painfully and a swarm of butterflies take flight in her stomach.

Lily noticed the despair float into Hermione's chocolate brown eyes, "Are you alright?" she said gently, unsure of how to comfort her.

Hermione forced the sad thoughts from her mind and responded, "I'll be fine," before directing the conversation into safe waters (safe waters being school related subjects). As they were conversing, three girls enter the dormitory, two of them chattering exuberantly while the other just smiled at her companions. They quieted upon seeing Hermione sitting on the bed talking to Lily.

Lily sprang up and brought Hermione up with her, "Girls, this is Hermione. Hermione, this is Alice Stone, Calenna Candhari, and Mariella Green."

Hermione felt as if she was looking into the eyes of three of her former classmates. Alice's soft brown hair, kind brown eyes, and round face made it obvious to Hermione that she was looking at Neville Longbottom's mother. Calenna had the same dark black hair (although hers what cut into a stylish bob) and deep brown eyes of Parvati and Padma Patil. Mariella's long blonde hair and green eyes made her look almost exactly like Lavender Brown.

Alice waved shyly in greeting while Calenna and Mariella hugged Hermione. "Welcome to Gryffindor!" Calenna shouted in an imitation of Dumbledore. The other girls giggled.

"We were just coming to get you for dinner," Mariella said to Lily, pulling her and Hermione towards the door. "I could eat a hippogriff right now. School kicked my ass today." As they entered the packed Common Room where many people were beginning to head to dinner, Hermione felt several pairs of eyes swivel in her direction.

"Ignore them," Calenna advised wisely, still maintaining her Dumbledore voice. Hermione let out a laugh and allowed them to lead her down the many stairs and into the Great Hall.

As they entered, Hermione felt rather than saw the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins turn to get a view of her. "There was a rumor going around that a new student was joining us. I think they just want to see if it was true," Alice said softly to Hermione. Hermione just nodded.

They headed to the Gryffindor table where, to Lily's chagrin but to Calenna's apparent pleasure, the Marauders were already sitting. Calenna settled herself in front of Remus, a loving expression on her face that went unnoticed by Remus. Alice went to go sit next to a a slim man who was sitting far down the table while Mariella, Lily, and Hermione joined Calenna in front of the Marauders.

"Nice of you girls to join us," Sirius said suavely, a cheeky grin on his face. Lily and Mariella rolled their eyes while Hermione smiled at him. Sirius noticed that the smile didn't quite reach her russet eyes. They remained void of all emotion. He made a silent vow to himself to try to bring happiness to her beautiful eyes.

To the surprise of the students, Dumbledore made his way to the podium located in front of the Head Table. He never made any announcements during their normal dinner time.

He cleared his throat and began speaking, "As I'm sure you all noticed, we have a new student in our midst. Miss Hermione Granger has transferred here for her last year of her schooling and has been placed in Gryffindor House. I ask all of you to please treat her with respect and kindness as she adjusts to these new circumstances. Thank you." A second after he finished, the golden plates were filled with mouthwatering food as per usual.

"Wow Hermione, Dumbledore seems to think highly of you already," Remus said, eyeing her curiously. "I forgot to ask, why were you in the Hospital Wing earlier?"

Hermione had been expecting Lupin to be suspicious of her sudden arrival. She knew him to be clever and wary of anything out of the ordinary. "I had an accident during my travels here. That is all," she answered.

Remus nodded but didn't look entirely convinced. Hermione knew that she would have to be careful about anything she said. Her cover would be blown entirely if she gave Lupin a reason to think she was lying.

**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed it! Review please!

~Amanda aka leafhouse


	4. Trust

**A/N: **Originally, I wasn't going to say this, but seeing as it might be a deal breaker for some readers, I am going to clarify something: **Hermione is going to change the future/destroy the Horcruxes. I prefer time travel fics in which the person makes a change rather than just lets everything happen so that is the direction mine will be taking shortly**. Oh, and thanks to show me the stars who told me I forgot to mention Peter in the last chapter. He was just casually absent from my mind when I was writing it haha :) Also, thanks to all who put **TTTB** on story alert and reviewed. You are all fabulous. Anyway, on to the chapter!

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter is not mine (most unfortunately).

* * *

**Chapter 4 - Trust**

Dinner was a surprisingly comforting affair for Hermione. The antics of the Marauders, Mariella, and Calenna distracted her from the deluge of emotions threatening to drown her at any given minute.

Wormtail arrived midway through the meal. Hermione's knuckles grew white as she clutched her goblet of pumpkin juice, willing herself not to _Avada Kedrava_ him on the spot. In the eyes the Marauders and her dormmates, she had no reason to feel unadulterated hatred towards Wormtail. Keeping in mind that he hadn't done anything evil _yet_, Hermione forced a smile on her face and shook his hand as she had done everyone else.

After eating until they were fit to bursting, the Gryffindors trooped up their dormitories, where most of them dropped off into sweet sleep. Everyone but Hermione, that was.

It took her an hour to fall asleep and when she did, she slept fitfully. Every time Hermione's eyes drooped shut and she let sleep overtake her, she saw the empty, dead faces of her schoolmates and members of the Order and a vivid blue light.

After waking up trembling for the fourth time, Hermione saw the beginnings of the sun rise through the dormitory window and gave up on sleep completely, laying still in her warm bed, thinking of Harry and Ron. It felt almost unnatural for her to be here, at Hogwarts, without them with her. The Golden Trio had been reduced to the Golden Girl. Although she finally let the sadness consume her, no tears came to her eyes. Hermione felt almost like a shell of her former self; empty and alone.

_No,_ she thought bracingly_, it will not do to think this way. I must act like nothing is wrong, lest I will attract unwanted attention to myself. _Using every bit of emotional strength she had, Hermione shoved away thoughts of her best friends and carefully extricated herself from the confines of her bed. She silently changed out of her nightgown and into her school robes. Grabbing her heavy school bag from the floor, Hermione wandered down the steps into the Common Room and meandered over to the window.

Hermione stared pensively at the grounds at Hogwarts, smiling absently at Hagrid's hut, smoke billowing faintly from the chimney. At least another familiar, friendly face would be at Hogwarts with her, even if it was one sided.

"I see I'm not the only early bird," a smooth voice issued from behind Hermione, frightening her. She turned and pulled her wand out her school robes simultaneously, training its tip at the intruder's chest, only to see Sirius, his hands up in surrender and a surprised look on his face.

Hermione blushed and hurriedly tucked her wand away, "Sorry Sirius," she said embarrassedly.

"It's fine, Jumpy. I'll just be sure not to sneak up on you again," he said with a wink as he draped his body across the couch. Hermione took this time to nonchalantly examine Sirius. His dark hair looked glossy and soft, his blue-grey eyes dancing with mirth. It unnerved Hermione to see him so handsome and alive when she seen him with a waxen face and deadened eyes with a likeness to a skeleton.

"Like what you see?" Sirius questioned, his mouth twisting into a smirk. He had noticed Hermione discreetly eyeing him.

Hermione glowed a faint pink and glared at him. Ignoring his question, Hermione took a seat on the couch and pulled _Spellman's Syllabary _out of her school bag.

"Whatcha reading? She heard Sirius question in a sing-song voice.

Hermione sighed, "Don't you have anything productive you can be doing? Being a nuisance will get you nowhere in life."

Sirius took a moment to think about her statement and finally said, "You're right. Let's get breakfast!" He bounded off the couch and pulled Hermione up by the hand. The skin-to-skin contact sent a surge of energy through both of their hands. Sirius felt pleasantly surprised at this occurrence; Hermione felt nothing but unbridled terror.

* * *

"-And that's Professor Flitwick. I'm pretty sure he's half-Goblin, half-gnome, but he's a pretty solid teacher. That there is Professor Slughorn. I hope you don't have an aptitude for Potions because then he'll jump at any chance he can get to recruit you for his Sluggy Club or whatever he calls it." Sirius and Hermione were sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, feasting on bacon and eggs. Sirius had taken it upon himself to give Hermione a run down on every teacher. Hermione giggled in response to every statement he made, not because they were funny but because she already knew each of these teachers.

"And there's...wait! Where's Minnie? Have you seen her?" Sirius asked James and Mariella, who had come downstairs only minutes before. James just shrugged, not even bothering to look up from his plate while Mariella smirked but gave no answer.

"Anyway," Sirius continued to Hermione, "Minnie – or Professor McGonagall to everyone else – is the hardest teacher in this place. Super strict too. I think she's given me and James over two hundred detentions apiece. It's too bad she's late today. I guess she's losing her touch."

"I beg to differ," an icy voice said from behind Sirius. His eyes widened as he swiveled in the direction of the voice. "I'll see you in detention tonight Mr. Black. You know the drill."

"But Minnie -" Sirius began.

"Silence, Black or I'll make it two detentions." In a kinder tone, she said, "Miss Granger, here is your schedule. I hope you have a pleasant first day at Hogwarts." She handed Hermione a rectangular piece of paper and walked back to the Head Table.

"You – you said nothing!" Sirius was accusing Mariella hotly. "She was right behind me that whole time, wasn't she?"

"Maybe, maybe not. You'll never know," Mariella answered in a misty tone.

"God Mariella you're such a b- oh, Hermione lemme see!" Hermione's schedule was snatched from her hands before she could even begin to read it.

"Ooh you're smart, too! We have most of the same classes except Ancient Runes and Arithmancy," he grinned. As he said this, the rest of the gang arrived at the table.

"Good morning, Hermione, Mariella," Lily greeted tiredly as she took a seat at the Table. Calenna, Remus, and Peter sat down heavily next to her.

"Hey, what about us?" James said, lifting his head from his plate indignantly, indicating himself and Sirius.

Lily just rolled her eyes and turned to Hermione, "You look dead on your feet. Are you alright?" Lily asked, concerned.

Hermione gave her a tired smile and lied through her teeth, "I'm fine. I was just a little nervous about my first day and couldn't get to sleep properly, I guess. Actually, I think I'll be getting to Charms now. Its my first class and I don't want to be late." Hermione waved goodbye to the Lily and the others and made her way to the Entrance Hall.

"Wait!" Hermione heard a voice behind her. She turned to see Sirius running to her. "You don't know how to get to Charms so I figured I'd lead you there," he said, flipping a lock of hair to the side.

Hermione almost answered, _I can lead myself just fine_, but she remembered that she was supposed to be uneducated about how to make her way around Hogwarts. They started heading in the direction of the Charms classroom when an all too familiar voice came from behind them. "Well isn't it my dear cousin and the new girl. I could tell she's a Mudblood just by looking at her."

Sirius stopped abruptly and turned, a fire igniting in his dark eyes. "Watch your mouth, Bellatrix." Hermione was shocked at the appearance of the girl she was looking at. At seventeen, Bellatrix had long, dark, well cared for hair and dark brown eyes alive with pleasure at getting a rise out of Sirius. Two men flanked her, one who looked almost exactly like Sirius and the other with dark blonde hair and wild eyes. Skulking behind Bellatrix was none other than Severus Snape, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"I can say whatever I want, dear cousin. Don't you have anything to say to your lovely brother, Regulus? He openly cavorts with such filth," Bellatrix said, contempt tangible in her voice.

Color flooded Regulus' face as he said, "He's no brother of mine."

Hermione grabbed Sirius' robes just in time to stop him from lunging at Regulus. Bellatrix, Regulus, and the wild eyed man laughed derisively while Snape tried to avoid being brought into the conversation, preferring to remain a watcher of the action. Hermione spoke up to Sirius, "Let's go." she said forcefully, dragging him down the corridor.

"You better watch who you decide to mess with, Mudblood!" Bellatrix yelled down the hallway.

Once they were a safe distance away and Sirius' angry breathing had calmed, Hermione spoke, feigning confusion, "Who were they?"

"Bellatrix Black, Roldolphus Lestrange, Severus Snape, and...Regulus Black. My abominable brother." Sirius spat. "All training up to be You-Know-Who's best Death Eaters."

Hermione nodded sadly but not for the reason Sirius thought. She was thinking of poor Regulus Black, killed for defying Voldemort. Sudden anger flared up in her at the thought of the future cruelties Bellatrix and Lestrange would commit, a sick taste coming to her mouth.

Sirius looked taken aback at the hatred spreading across Hermione's face. Mistaking it as anger at being called a Mudblood and Bellatrix's threat, Sirius said, "Don't worry, Jumpy. Bellatrix or any Slytherin will never lay a hand on you. The Marauders – I won't allow it. Okay?"

Hermione peered into Sirius' grey eyes shining with an emotion Hermione couldn't identify.

And to her own surprise, Hermione did something she hadn't done in a long time. She trusted him.

**A/N:** Thanks for reading!

Hint: I love reviews :)

~Amanda aka leafhouse


	5. An Inch Away from the Truth

**A/N:** Hey! Here's a quick update for y'all. Thank you for the reviews and story alerts/favorites :) Enjoy!

**A/N 2: **For the purpose of my story, Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange will be the same age as the Marauders. Okay, NOW on to the story!

**Disclaimer: **I solemnly swear that I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Potions, the Library, and an Accidental Confession**

"What class do we have next?" Sirius questioned James, Remus, and Hermione as they finished their lunch and made their way to the Entrance Hall. The first two classes of the day, Charms and Transfiguration, had gone smoothly, something Hermione was grateful for after the mishap with the Slytherins.

"Potions," Hermione said tiredly, allowing Remus to steer her in the direction of the dungeons. She was finding it hard to keep her eyes open, her sleepless night catching up to her.

James and Sirius put their heads together as Hermione and Remus led the way to the Potions classroom.

"What do you think they're talking about? They have a sort of...maniacal look in their eyes. Should I be worried?" Hermione asked Remus, a hint of a smile on her face.

"By the looks of it, they're planning a prank. You shouldn't be worried; their first prank of the year usually involves the Slytherins," Remus answered. "I still don't know how James got Head Boy. He definitely hijacked the delivery owl as it headed to my house...and then Confunded Dumbledore as soon as he got to the castle...," He grumbled the last part to himself. Hermione stifled a giggle at the disgruntled Remus.

Being the first students meant that they would have free reign in choosing their seats. Hermione headed to a desk in the back of the room. Usually, she would prefer to be directly in front of the teacher's desk, but she was knew that would only bring attention to herself.

Hermione expected the seat next to her to remain empty until Lily or one of the other girls came down to class, but to her surprise, Sirius strolled up the desk.

"Is this seat taken?" he said in a faux deep voice.

"Nope, it appears to be quite empty to me. Take a seat," Hermione said, her mouth twitching upwards momentarily and a faint sparkle coming to her eye.

Sirius and Hermione chatted as they waited for the classroom to fill up. Hermione was surprised at how much they had in common. She had always thought Sirius would be nothing but a reckless troublemaker while in Hogwarts and felt a pang of surprise that this was not the case. He was always able to make a rapid quip to her feisty statements and proved himself to be exceptionally smart in the times they had spoken. Hermione felt pleased at this realization but couldn't quite explain to herself why she felt this way.

"Class, settle down, settle down. We have an important lesson ahead of us today," said a familiar voice from the front of the room. Professor Slughorn looked almost exactly how he looked in the future. His thick moustache was streaked with a little less gray and he appeared to be a bit thinner, but Hermione could discern no other noticeable changes. She sat up in her seat a little straighter.

"Today," Slughorn continued as soon as the class quieted, "we will be beginning an extremely tricky potion. It will take a month to be finished and must be made exactly right, or the consequences will be quite severe for the parties involved. I have a batch of it in the cauldron," he indicated a pewter cauldron bubbling lazily, "right now. Can anybody tell me what the potion I am speaking of is as well as what it does?"

As a force of habit, Hermione's hand shot up. She would recognize that sluggish, gray, unappealing potion from a mile away. The class looked at Hermione curiously as Professor Slughorn called on her, "Yes Miss..."

"Granger, sir. And that potion is Polyjuice Potion. When brewed properly, it morphs the user into an exact copy of whoever they wish to impersonate. It takes a month to complete because the lacewing flies must be stewed for exactly 21 days and the fluxweed must be picked at the full moon."

The class was still with shocked silence. Even Professor Slughorn couldn't form coherent words for a moment before saying, "Miss Granger, that was an exceptional answer! 20 points to Gryffindor! It sounds as if you've brewed the potion before!" Hermione just blushed and gave a small smile.

"Now, with your partners, please begin the potion. The directions can be read on page 18 in your books," Professor Slughorn said, sitting down at his desk.

"Blimey, Hermione. How did you know all of that?" Sirius asked as they fetched the proper ingredients from the storeroom.

"I like to read," was Hermione's lame answer. Sirius just laughed as they hastened their way over to their work station.

Potions class passed by quickly. Sirius and Hermione _thought _they had managed to perform the first steps of the potion correctly until their potion was an odd shade of orange rather than the dark purple color they were aiming for, something Hermione allotted to the fact that Sirius couldn't stop turning around to whisper to James.

Usually, such an occurrence would have made Hermione consider murdering her partner, she found herself laughing along with Sirius as they attempted to rectify their mistake.

They were still laughing about the mishap as they exited the classroom and made their way to the Entrance Hall.

"It was _definitely_ your fault, Sirius. I could of sworn I saw a strand of unicorn hair floating in there when the instructions don't even mention them!" Hermione said, struggling to talk through her giggles.

"Whatever you say, Hermione. I, on the other hand, am sure I saw Remus try to sabotage James' potion but messed up ours' instead," Sirius said, his eyes shining with mischievously.

"Hey!" Remus said from behind them, "Don't involve me in your problem!"

Sirius just grinned at him. "Joining us in the Common Room, Hermione?"

Hermione shook her head, "Actually, I'm heading to the library. There's been something I've been wanting to research."

Sirius looked a little crestfallen but quickly covered it up, "Just don't miss dinner! There'll be something you don't wanna miss," he said, winking. Hermione raised her eyebrows in suspicion but Sirius just walked away, whistling.

Hermione rushed up the steps to the third floor, eager to reach her favorite place in Hogwarts. Immediately after walking into the Library, she truly felt at home. The musty smell radiating off the worn, leather bound books soothed Hermione more than any person ever could.

She snapped out her reverie and remembered the true reason why she was here. Ever since she had woken up after tumbling from that blue light, two things had been plaguing Hermione's mind. One was the current state her friends as well as the whole Wizarding world was in. The other was the curse that sent her back in time. She had no recollection of the exact words of the spell; just the traumatizing memory of the light hitting her chest. The wound on her chest had quickly healed the day she left the Hospital Wing, leaving only a faint scar. She was hoping the Library would provide her with the answers, just as it had so many times before.

Traveling through a few of the shelves expectantly, Hermione took an ancient tome entitled _A Travel Through Time_ down from the shelf. However, before she could begin to peruse it, the dinner bell rang. Sirius' voice resonated in her mind as she recalled him telling her not miss dinner. A faint smile on her face, she quickly tucked the book into her bag and sprang for the exit, not knowing that her fate was spelled out only a few pages into the book.

* * *

"Hermione, you almost missed it!" Sirius shouted as soon as a windswept Hermione sprinted to the table, his heart thudding slightly at the sight of her. Brushing the thoughts aside, he said, "Sit down, we're gonna do it now."

Hermione took a seat between a disapproving Lily, her Head Girl badge gleaming on her chest, and an excited Calenna, who was struggling to see what Sirius and James were going to do.

Sirius and James simultaneously aimed their wands at the Slytherin table and said, with identical grins on their faces, "_Repellum Maximum_".

The Slytherins had just say down at their House table and were eagerly reaching for their forks. But, before they could even lay a hand on their utensils, they mysteriously seemed to zoom away from them, repelled by an unseen force.

James, Sirius, and many of the other Gryffindors roared with laughter as the golden plates begin flying away from the Slytherins, many Hufflepuffs having to duck as a plate filled with mashed potatoes soared over their heads, a bewildered Snape attempting to catch it. Hermione couldn't suppress a laugh when she sighted Bellatrix Lestrange wildly chasing a plate of treacle tart out of the Great Hall.

As suddenly as it began, the plates stopped skidding and flying around the hall, freezing in midair and neatly floating back to the Slytherin table. The spilled food disappeared from the floor in the blink of an eye.

Sirius colored in indignation and yelled, "Hey! Who did that? How dare that -"

"Unless you want another detention tonight, Black, I don't suggest finishing that sentence," an enraged voice said from behind him. "Potter, explain."

"We were just having some fun Professor," James said smoothly. "No harm done. It was just a prank."

Lily scoffed at James' words, her green eyes narrowed so much that they appeared to be closed. McGonagall's mind seemed to be on the same track as Lily's as she said, "Potter, one more event like this and you'll have a week's worth of detention." She sighed angrily and turned on her heel.

"James, why are you so damn immature?" Lily growled as McGonagall stomped away. "I've had it up to here with your stupid pranks. Especially when they are unprovoked! I thought that becoming Head Boy would have matured you a bit. You know, I'd probably go out with you if you grew the bloody hell up!" Lily froze, realizing what she had just admitted, and stormed away from the table, her face flaming red. Mariella muttered, "I'll go see if she's okay," before leaving the table as well.

The rest of the group sat there equally as frozen, unsure of what to make of the situation. Calenna and Remus' mouths were hanging open. Peter's fork was held stationary, a piece of chicken falling off of it. Sirius had a look somewhere between amusement and surprise written across his face. Hermione looked torn between crying and shouting out in joy. They all glanced at James, only to see his face glowing, a stupid grin on his face. He looked as if Christmas had come early and his parents had gotten him a new broom.

"You guys," James said in a hushed voice, "Lily likes me!" At that statement, they all dissolved in laughter, surprised at the way things had worked out.

Only one member of the laughing group was not surprised. At that moment, Hermione felt pure elation with a nagging, underlying feeling of sadness. Her best friend's parents were on the way to becoming a couple, and she was here to witness it. Too bad their happily ever after would be rudely interrupted by a monster named Lord Voldemort.

**A/N: **Hoped you all liked it! Please review! :)

~Amanda aka leafhouse


	6. Trouble in Hogsmeade

**A/N:** Sorry for the slight delay! I was home sick today so I got to work on this chapter for a few hours and I'm pleased with the outcome. Next chapter is when things will really begin going down haha. Thanks for the feedback/favorites/alerts! Enjoy :)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter. I'm just borrowing the characters for a bit :D

**Chapter 6 – Trouble in Hogsmeade**

Two fast paced weeks had passed since Hermione's first day at Hogwarts. The once prominent issue of Hermione's time traveling had been pushed to the back of her mind due to the colossal amounts of work the teachers thought it essential to assign. _A Travel Through Time_, which held so many answers, had been wedged between two equally thick textbooks in Hermione's school bag since the night she had taken it out of the library.

The school was now buzzing with excitement at the prospect of the first Hogsmeade trip, scheduled for the coming Saturday.

On the Friday night before the trip, the 7th Year girls sat in the otherwise empty Common Room, each engrossed in their various activities. Lily, Alice, and Hermione all sat at the small wooden table in the corner of the room, writing their Potions essays feverishly, their noses an inch from the table and their eyes darting from the parchment to the textbooks laying open on their laps. Calenna was perched precariously on the arm of the couch, attempting to paint her toenails and study for their upcoming Charms test simultaneously. Mariella had given up completely on schoolwork and had been attempting to magic her hair into a French braid for the past ten minutes.

"So, do you guys have dates to Hogsmeade, yet?" Mariella asked absently. The simple question caused Calenna to lose hold of the nail polish bottle, Lily to freeze in her writing, and Alice to blush uncontrollably. Hermione was the only girl unaffected by the innocent question.

Mariella was oblivious to the responses her question had caused and simply said, "Well?" when it was met with silence.

To their surprise, Alice answered timidly, "Well...Frank Longbottom asked me yesterday...and I said I would go with him." She ducked her head embarrassedly as Lily, Calenna, and Mariella all gasped loudly. Hermione smiled to herself but aimed her attention back to her essay.

"Oh my goodness, Alice! Why didn't you tell us?" Calenna demanded, leaving her seat at the couch to sit in front of the table.

Alice just blushed in response and tried to divert the attention from herself, "How about you Calenna? Do you have a date?"

Calenna sobered immediately and answered morosely, "Yeah. Paul Patil asked me. He's been badgering me to go out with him since 5th Year, the poor thing. I said yes, seeing as the boy I do like would never like me, not in a million years."

Hermione's curiosity was piqued at Calenna's solemn statement. "Who do you like, Calenna?" she asked in an innocent voice.

Calenna sighed and answered quietly, "Remus."

"I don't understand why you don't tell him. You've been pining after him for goodness knows how long. He probably likes you back, you know," Lily said with an impatient sigh.

"Why don't you tell James you like him? You haven't spoken to him in two weeks!" Calenna countered. Lily immediately turned beet red.

"You know what? Maybe I will tell him," Lily said loftily, her face still glowing.

"You wouldn't," Calenna said doubtfully.

"Wanna bet?" Lily said, her eyes glinting.

"Okay, girls, settle down," Mariella said, hoping to mediate the fight.

"How about you Mariella? Have a date?" Lily asked, turning her fiery stare to the blonde haired girl.

Mariella simply smirked, refusing to cower under Lily's steely glare, "I do actually. Darren Brown asked me on Monday. He's cute so I said yes."

Hermione wasn't liking where this conversation was headed. Surreptitiously gathering her things together, she tried to make a dash for the girls staircase.

"Not so fast, Mione," Calenna said, grabbing hold of Hermione's ankle. "Sit your arse back down. Do you have a date?"

Hermione reluctantly sat back down. "No, I do not have a date," she mumbled, attempting to wrench her ankle out of Calenna's iron grip.

"I think a certain Marauder is interested in you," Mariella said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Hermione flushed. For the past two weeks, Sirius had been a familiar fixture in Hermione's life. She constantly felt herself craving his presence but allotted it to the fact that she had known him in the future. That didn't explain why her skin tingled with energy when they brushed hands or why she had subconsciously wanted him to ask her to Hogmeade..._no! Sirius can't have a crush on me, nor I on him. _She thought to herself forcefully. The timeline would be completely ruined if they developed feelings for each other. Besides, Hermione thought, it was impossible for someone like Sirius to even think about liking a girl like her.

"What makes you say that?" Hermione asked, attempting to sound unaffected.

"Well, for one thing, he hasn't dated since we returned from summer holidays. He's usually been with a horde of girls by now. Also, he's always looking to spend more time with you. AND he hasn't made a move on you yet. He definitely likes you," Lily said matter-of-factly. The other three girls nodded in agreement.

Hermione wringed her hands nervously. _They can't be right_, she thought. At this thought, the portrait door burst open and the voices of the Marauders whispering loudly was heard by the girls.

"Prongs, watch my toes! We don't want a repeat of last time," Sirius said in a hurried whisper.

"Sorry, mate," came the voice of James.

"What are you guys talking about?" came the wheezy voice of Peter.

"Nothing, Wormtail," Sirius said, an amused tone to his voice.

Although they could hear the boys, the girls couldn't see them. Hermione almost clapped a hand on her forehead as she realized what tonight was. It was a full moon, and the boys were trying to sneak back in after a night of roaming Hogsmeade with Remus.

The three Marauders were suddenly in sight as they whipped off the Cloak.

"Whoa!" Calenna said loudly at the sudden appearance of James, Sirius, and Peter. The boys jumped, oblivious to the company they had.

"Does Professor Dumbledore know you have that Cloak?" Lily questioned, the fiery look back in her eye.

James' eyes widened, "Evans, you just talked to me!" Lily flushed blotchily.

"That doesn't count," she grumbled, grabbing her Potions essay and rushing up the stairs without a glance back. Mariella and Alice shared a look and took off up the stairs after Lily. Hermione sat uneasily at the table, unsure of what to do.

"Well, I'm off to bed. Goodnight all," Calenna said, sending a pointed look at James and Peter.

"Us too. Sweet dreams," James said, winking at Sirius as he dragged Peter to the boys' staircase.

That left just Sirius and Hermione in the empty Common Room, silent besides the merry crackling of the fire.

"'Mione," Sirius began as he took a seat across from Hermione. She looked into his grey eyes confusedly.

Sirius felt his heart rate speed up as her chocolate brown orbs locked on his. Before he could chicken out, he continued slowly, "I was wondering if you would like to come to Hogsmeade with me. As my date," he clarified.

Hermione's brain went into overdrive. Her mind was shouting at her _NO! You will regret this! _But the thought of rejecting Sirius pained her.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione finally answered, her cheeks pink, "I would love to be your date to Hogsmeade, Sirius."

Sirius grinned broadly, a relieved sigh escaping his lips. He had never been so nervous asking out a girl.

"Good night, Hermione," he got up and kissed her on the cheek, letting his lips linger for a moment before turning and walking up the boys' staircase, a spring his step.

Hermione sat at the table for an extra ten minutes, holding her hand to the spot Sirius had kissed her, a stupid grin on her face.

* * *

"Any luck with Evans this morning?" Sirius asked James at breakfast the next morning.

James shook his head, a melancholy look on his face, "Nope. She just buried herself in her work and ignored me. I think I heard her tell Hermione that she wasn't coming down to breakfast."

At Hermione's name, Sirius got a dreamy look on his face. James laughed, "Padfoot, you're my best mate and all, but please get that stupid look off your face."

Sirius glared at the James and resumed eating his toast.

"Good morning, boys," Calenna said as she approached the table, Mariella in tow. "Down about Lily, James?" she asked sympathetically.

James just nodded pathetically.

"Why don't you skip Hogsmeade today? Lily's not going. Maybe you could talk to her alone then," Mariella suggested, her usual smirk absent from her face.

"Skip Hogsmeade?" Sirius said incredulously, "How could he skip Hogs-"

"You girls are right, I reckon," James sighed, Sirius gazing at him like he had never seen him clearly before. "Bye, mate. Have fun with 'Mione," he said, leaving the table.

Sirius glared at the two girls, who were smirking at him. "Don't worry, Siri," Calenna said. "By the end of the day, James and Lily will be a couple and you won't have to put up with his blabbing about her all the time."

"What makes you so sure?" Sirius asked, a dubious look on his face.

"Well," Mariella began, "Callie said that Lily would never ask James out so Lily said 'Wanna bet?', which caused us to think that Lily will indeed ask James out today."

"I'm impressed," Sirius admitted.

"Morning, guys," a feminine voice said from behind Sirius. He turned, his jaw dropping open as he caught sight of the girl before him. It was Hermione, but she looked more beautiful than usual. Her normally bushy hair flowed down her back in soft waves. She was wearing a curve-hugging pair of jeans and a red knitted sweater.

Oblivious to Sirius' reaction, she sat down next to him, leaning over his arm to grab a slice of toast. Her nose was scrunched up, a disgruntled look on her face.

"Lily forced me into this outfit and positively _attacked _my hair," she was saying to Calenna and Mariella. "By the way, she told me to tell you two that she knows you're planning something."

Calenna and Mariella just shared an evil glance. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"We should go meet our dates in the Entrance Hall. See you guys in Hogsmeade," Calenna sighed. Hermione and Sirius waved at the two girls as they left the Hall.

"What's wrong with Cal? She doesn't seem too happy," Sirius remarked curiously.

Choosing her words carefully, Hermione said, "The guy she really likes didn't ask her." Hermione knew that Sirius couldn't find out about Calenna's crush on Remus. For all Hermione knew, she could change Parvati and Padma Patil into Parvati and Padma Lupin. Such a dire change of the timeline would warp the future in ways Hermione couldn't imagine.

Finishing her toast, Hermione said, "Are you ready to go?"

Sirius nodded, a smile adorning his handsome face. He helped Hermione off the bench and, taking her hand in his, led her out of the school.

Hermione fought the blush threatening to overcome her face. His simple touch sent her reeling out of control, something Hermione both hated and, to her chagrin, liked.

They chatted softly as they headed to Hogsmeade, a few students milling around behind them. Sirius took notice to the fact that Hermione laughed more freely than when she arrived here, yet still didn't seem to ever relax. Her shoulders were always squared and tension seemed to emanate from her body at times.

As soon as they reached Hogsmeade, Hermione could tell something was wrong. The air suddenly seemed heavy with something she couldn't identify. Her heart stopped when she heard a faint scream in the town. She stopped abruptly and held a hand out to stop Sirius. "Something is wrong," she said breathlessly, withdrawing her wand from her pocket.

"Take out your wand," Hermione told him.

Pulling his wand out from his back pocket, Sirius moved forward. Simultaneously, Death Eaters began Apparating into the quaint village. The students behind Sirius and Hermione screamed and began scurrying towards the castle. People were fleeing stores, sending spells over their shoulders as they ran. She spotted Mariella and her date, Darren, fighting an ominous Death Eater who towered over the two of them.

Ignoring Sirius' yell, Hermione ran forward, sending a spell at the Death Eater. He keeled over immediately. The pair looked up appreciatively for their savior and ran to Hermione.

"What's happening, Hermione, Sirius?" Mariella asked, fear tangible in her voice.

"I'm not sure, Mari. Where's Callie?" she asked, trying to control her breathing as battle raged around them.

"I don't know," Mariella whimpered helplessly.

"Get yourselves back to the castle immediately. I'm sure help will come soon," Hermione said, hoping what she said was true. Mariella and Darren nodded and began running back to the castle.

"I have to fight, Sirius. I understand if you want to go back," Hermione said quickly. Not waiting for his answer, Hermione threw herself into the middle of the battle. She felt as if she was back at the Battle of Hogwarts, dodging rogue curses and hitting Death Eaters with spells as they attempted to hurt innocent people.

She spotted Sirius fighting determinedly to her left. Hermione knew he couldn't stand to see his friends fight without his help. Suddenly, Ministry officials began Apparating into the village, brandishing their wands with steely expressions on their faces. Almost at once, Death Eaters fled the premises, leaving many injured in their wake.

Hermione's head spun as she saw Calenna with Paul supporting her. Her ankle was jutting to the side in a grotesque angle. Rushing forward to Calenna, Hermione said worriedly, "Are you alright?"

Calenna tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. "I'm fine. My ankle's just broken," she said, her face screwed up in pain. Hermione knelt down and pointed her wand at Calenna's ankle. "_Episkey_," she muttered, hoping the spell would work correctly. Calenna yelped in pain as her ankle snapped back into place.

"Thanks Hermione. That bloody hurt though," Calenna said, sighing in relief when she tried to walk on both legs.

Hermione simply nodded, numbness clouding her thoughts. "Both of you get to the castle, okay?" They nodded and turned to walk to the castle.

Hermione scanned the vicinity for Sirius and found him helping a young woman up from the ground. She approached him as quickly as her wobbly legs would allow her. "I'm going to head back to the castle. I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore immediately," she said, the familiar despair floating into her eyes.

Sirius nodded. "Everything will be fine," he said bracingly. Hermione nodded, not knowing a less true statement.

Hermione was alone with nothing but her thoughts for company as she trekked back to Hogwarts. She had never been more confused in her life. She thought she knew all events, in this time, that dealt with Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Never, in her extensive research, had she read about a battle in Hogsmeade. Was her mere presence here changing the course of the future? Hermione couldn't fathom how she could have caused a battle to erupt in an otherwise peaceful village when she had done nothing significant in her time here.

Unknowingly, Hermione had ended up in front of Dumbledore's office.

She sighed when she realized she had no idea what the password was. "Fizzing Whizbees, Sugar Quills, Lemon Drop...er...Cockroach Cluster. Ugh! Bloody Pepper Imps, for goodness sake!" Hermione jumped back in shock when the gargoyle sprang aside.

She shakily climbed onto the moving staricase. She was surprised to see the office door open. Peering into the ornate office, Hermione saw that it was completely empty. Figuring that Dumbledore had went down to the village, she tiredly took a seat in front of his elaborately craved desk.

Laying her head in her hands, she tried to stop the river of thoughts threatening to overflow from her brain. She sat there for an unknown amount of time, almost losing track of where she was as she fought her emotions.

"Miss Granger?"

Hermione jumped in her seat and turned quickly. Dumbledore was standing in the doorway, looking solemn.

"Professor, I had no idea this was going to happen! I don't even think it did happen in my time," Hermione said feverishly as she sprang out of her seat.

"Don't worry, Miss Granger. I do not hold you responsible for this in any way," Dumbledore said, moving towards his desk. Settling himself in his throne-like chair, he continued, "Like you yourself said, I do not believe this happened in your future. I believe that your very presence here is affecting time. You are the first person to ever travel this far back. I am still dedicated to finding out how you got here, but I'm afraid I am no where closer than I was when you first arrived. I do not want you worrying about things you can't control. I am sure I will eventually find a way to send you back. If it turns out that I can't, we'll make do with that. "

Hermione nodded, her fears slightly alleviated by Dumbledore. "Thank you, sir," she said softly before leaving the office.

She absently made her way to the Gryffindor Common Room, ducking through secret passageways and tapestries hiding corridors. As Hermione pulled back the last tapestry that would lead her to her destination, she heard a feminine yelp from the corner of the corridor.

"_Lumos_," she said hurriedly, only to see a ruffled, wide eyed Lily and James, their lips swollen and their hair messy.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the sight of them. "I see you two got together. Unless this is just another way to express how much you despise James," she managed to get out, aiming the last part of her statement at Lily.

Lily's face filled with color. "Yes, James and I are together now. If you don't mind, Hermione, we were in the middle of something," she said, an embarrassed but pleased smile on her face.

"I'll leave you two to it," Hermione said, smirking, feeling a little lighter than before.

**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed it! Review please! :)

~Amanda aka leafhouse


	7. Discovery

**A/N: **Sorry for the almost two week delay! A combination of laziness, schoolwork, and writer's block are to blame for that but I'm back :) Hope the beginning of the chapter gives some insight into the Sirius/Hermione relationship. Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed/favorited/etc, especially my good friend TheOneAndOnlyGlitter, who helped me get back on track! Okay, enough with my rambling. On to the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 7 – Discovery**

Still lightly smiling to herself, Hermione rounded the final corner and faced the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"_Caput Draconis,"_ she said. The faint smile quickly slipped off her lips as the portrait door swung open. An onslaught of voices met her ears as dozens of worried Gryffindors surrounded her, wanting to hear about the attack.

"Hermione, do you know what happened?"

"Is anyone hurt?"

"Did Dumbledore make them disappear?"

"I heard dementors showed up-"

"Oi! Leave the poor girl alone!" Hermione sighed in relief as she heard the beautifully familiar voice. The face followed only shortly after.

Sirius looked down at Hermione, smiling at the sight of her. Ignoring the qualms of the Gryffindors, he grabbed her hand gently and wove their way through the crowd. Leading her up a flight of stairs, they reached the oak door of the boys' dormitory. With his available hand, Sirius pushed it open and peered in, making sure the coast was clear. Satisfied to see that the room was void of people, he led her in and sat her firmly on his bed.

"Thanks, Sirius," Hermione said, attempting to smile at him but failing.

Cautiously, he sat down next to her. Ignoring her thanks, he said, "I imagined our first date going much more smoother than that." He smiled roguishly at her.

Hermione blushed, her heart thudding rapidly in her chest. Her eyes connecting with his, she forced herself to say what she knew was right, even though it pained her. "Sirius, about that... I don't think we should date just yet. I like you, more than you like me probably, but I want to get to know you better first." She looked down at her entwined hands, sadness settling in her stomach. She knew it would be impossible for them to ever be together, and felt terrible at giving him false hope.

Sirius' smile faltered as he sat silently, mulling over what Hermione said. Slowly, he answered, "I understand. I just want to let you know that I really like you, even though we haven't know each other for long. If you were to ever agree to date me, I promise I will be faithful."

At Sirius' words, guilt washed over Hermione. Swallowing her feelings, she forced a smile on her face. "Thank you," she said faintly.

He nodded before saying, "Are you alright? After the battle, I mean? You looked rather...distraught when you said you had to go find Dumbledore."

Hermione looked up into Sirius' worried face. "I'm fine. It just reminded me of what happened the night I came here," she said with a shiver. Hermione never spoke about what happened on that night that left her so injured and heartbroken. Although Sirius, and James for that matter, were concerned about Hermione as well as curious about the event, they hadn't asked out of respect.

Hermione flinched slightly in surprise as Sirius lent forward and took her in his arms. Relaxing into his hold, she inhaled his distinct smell of minty soap and cinnamon. As she lent her head on his muscular shoulder, he lightly began threading his fingers into her hair. Hermione felt surprise at Sirius' feather light touch as well as his apparent compassion. The Sirius in her time was toughened by his stay at Azkaban and showed affection to no one but Harry. However, it was surprisingly easy for her to look to him for comfort.

Reluctantly withdrawing herself from his hold, she looked up at him, one side of mouth curved upward into a light smile. "Thanks again, Sirius. I should probably get some studying done. It's still early, you know."

Sirius shook his head, an incredulous look on his face. "How you could do work on a Saturday is astounding."

Hermione just smiled at him as she lithely got off the bed and left the room.

* * *

A week had passed since the event at Hogsmeade, but it was still one of the most talked about subjects among Hogwarts students. The other most talked about occurrence was James and Lily's newfound relationship.

"I told you that I would ask James out," Lily said to Calenna, smugly. The girls were walking to Defense Against the Dark Arts on the Friday after the failed trip to Hogsmeade. Lily had pulled her lips off of James' long enough to walk with the other girls. Lily continued, "I think its about time you did the same."

Calenna feigned ignorance, "Do what, ask James out too? I didn't know he was a polygamist in training."

Lily sighed, "You know what I mean. Remus is still single, you know."

Hermione pointedly stood silent the whole debate. She knew that this conversation must have occurred before she had burst into the past and that saying anything could change the course of the whole discussion. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as they reached the DADA classroom. Muttering an unintelligible sentence to the girls, Hermione hastened over to where Sirius was already lounging in a chair, tipping it back carelessly.

"Hey, Sirius," she said quietly as she sat down next to him. They had been spending a lot of time together since last Saturday as Hermione wanted to "get to know him better." Sirius hadn't pushed for her to go out with him at all, something Lily said meant that he really liked her. Hermione had pushed aside anything Lily said, refusing to believe Sirius really liked her _that_ much.

Sirius grinned her, "Hey, 'Mione. Take a seat."

Hermione slid into the chair next to him and began taking her supplies out. "Has James stopped his 'blabbing about Lily', like Mari and Callie said he would if they began dating?" Hermione said, a smirk on her face.

Sirius let his chair fall with a bang as he said, "No! If anything, he talks about her more! How good she kisses, how much he wants to shag-"

"Mate, if you finish that sentence, I will have to kill you," James said as he sat down at the table behind them with Remus and Peter.

Sirius opened his mouth to respond, but the professor started speaking before he could do so.

"Okay, class. Today we will begin learning how to conjure Patronuses," Professor Warren said, flicking his wand at the board, where notes on Patronuses starting scrawling themselves. Hermione hurriedly grabbed her quill and copied down the notes carefully, despite knowing all about Patronuses from Harry's tenure as teacher of the D.A. during their 5th year. Frowning at the thought of her best friend, she focused all of her attention on her notes.

When the class finished getting all of the notes down, Professor Warren resumed speaking, "As you can see by your notes, the incantation for conjuring a Patronus is _Expecto Patronum_. I'm not expecting anyone to manage to get the spell perfectly on the first day of practice, seeing as it is a highly complex bit of magic. I am going to give you the rest of the class period to practice. All you need to do is think of a very strong, vivid happy memory and say the incantation. Go on, now."

Professor Warren swept aside the desks with his wand as the class stood up, giving them a wide space in which to practice in. The class immediately pulled out their wands and fruitlessly began attempting to cause Patronuses to appear.

Sirius turned to Hermione. "This spell sounds easy. I don't know what Professor Warren is on about," he said, a careless grin on his face.

Hermione crossed her arms and smirked, "If it's so easy, then why don't you give it a try."

Sirius rolled his eyes and pulled up his sleeves. Closing his sparkling gray eyes, he screwed his face in concentration. Hermione stifled a laugh as he shouted "_Expecto Patronum!_" and nothing issued from his wand.

"What – why - huh," Sirius spluttered, flabbergasted. His eyes narrowed with mock outrage at Hermione's muffled giggles. "Why don't you try then?"

Hermione mimicked Sirius' earlier actions, rolling her eyes and folding up her robe sleeves. Holding her wand out delicately, she snapped her eyes shut. Images of returning home, to a world not ravaged by war and death, flooded her mind. Harry and Ron's smiling faces floated into the picture. An involuntary smile spread across her face as she said, "_Expecto Patronum!_" A bright silver otter erupted from her wand and frolicked across the room. The other students froze in their actions. Sirius' wand clattering to the floor as his mouth dropped open in disbelief.

Hermione blushed, her stomach clenching in fear. Performing magic beyond her school age as if she had been practicing for years was not helping her plan to remain insignificant. As she was mentally cursing herself, her concentration on the Patronus waned, causing it to fade and disappear. Professor Warren recovered from the initial shock that someone had gotten the spell on what he thought to be her first try.

"Great job, Miss Granger. Take 20 points for Gryffindor. Class dismissed," he said, sweeping the desks back into place. The class had tentatively resumed its chatter, although now the chatter only concerned one topic: Hermione. Keeping her head down, Hermione gathered her things together rapidly and fled the room.

"Wait up!" Hermione heard a voice yell behind her. Expecting to see Sirius, she slowly turned around and was surprised to see Remus jogging after her. She waited until he fell into step with her before continuing her journey out of the Defense corridor.

Remus looked at her with suspicion in his eyes and said with a puzzled tone, "How did you do that? You seem to know an awful lot for a 7th year. First in Potions with the Polyjuice and now, with the Patronus. And its not only there either. It's in the rest of the school too. You know your way around the school like you've been here forever."

Hermione tried to mask the alarm on her face at Remus' accusations. She said evenly, "I just enjoy studying and learning as much as I can. I knew the concepts of both subjects. That is all, Remus."

"How about knowing your way around the school?" he countered, still not convinced that Hermione was being truthful.

"I have a good memory. I've been here for almost a month, Remus. Don't you expect me to have learned how to navigate from class to class by now?" Hermione demanded, allowing some of her annoyance to tinge her voice. She knew Remus was suspicious of her, and she didn't blame him; if an unknown person just showed up in Hogwarts unannounced she would have done the same as him. But she knew she was not going to do anything to hurt anyone; why couldn't Remus just accept it?

Not allowing him time to answer, Hermione said curtly, "I'm going to go to the library now. Goodbye." She turned and walked away as quickly as she could without looking suspicious.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she rounded into the library and plopped into one of the familiar wooden chairs. She unslung her bag from its position on her shoulder and rummaged through it, pulling out a book out from between two of her textbooks. Her eyebrows furrowed, Hermione read the title of the book. _A Travel Through Time._ Her heart jumped into her throat. How did she forget about this book?

Quickly placing the book on the table, Hermione leafed through it, her eyes racing back and forth as she began reading the small text.

She had been reading incessantly for only a half an hour when she caught two words on the fiftieth page of the tome: _Glacialis Tempore_. The words formed an incantation that seemed eerily familiar to her. Grabbing the book in excitement, Hermione concentrated on the text below the spell, reading in a nervous fervor, hoping that the paragraph would provide the answer to her problems.

The book slipped from her grasp as she read the one sentence that sealed her fate. The loud noise that resonated as the book slammed on the table did not break her out of her reverie as her eyes widened and her body froze in shock.

"Oh my God," she whispered. They were the only words Hermione could say as she slowly trained her stare back onto the page that so clearly stated to her that she would never be able to return home.

**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed the story, as well as my weak attempt at a minor cliffhanger. Please review! :) Thanks for reading!

~Amanda aka leafhouse


	8. Permanent Residence

**A/N: **Okay, first let me say WOW 19 REVIEWS OH MY GOODNESS. Thank you to all who reviewed, put me on alert, favorited, etc! This chapter is just setting the stage for the action that is going to go down soon. I might try to publish another chapter tonight to make up for the upcoming wait. I have a gigantic research paper to do next weekend (can anyone say ALL NIGHTER, seeing as I reserved it - most idiotically - solely for that weekend). Anyway, enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter no es mío.

**Chapter 8 – Permanent Residence**

Trying to still her racing heart, Hermione reread the text slowly as to not miss a word.

_Glacialis Tempore – A Dark, highly complex curse that causes the receiver to go back in time. The casting of it is forbidden by the Ministry of Magic. The spell has been called a myth by many; no one has ever successfully cast it or has been on the receiving end of it. If one were to be the receiver of Glacialis Tempore, he or she would be sent back to a time period that holds particular importance in his or her life. If the spell worked as it should, the receiver of the spell would become a permanent resident of the particular time period. Their presence would change the entire course of the future, meaning that the future as the time traveler knows it will no longer exist. _

Hermione rose her head slowly, numbness spreading along her limbs. She would never get to be Harry or Ron's best friend again. She would never see her parents again. No more Weasleys, no more Luna, no more Neville. Hermione realized these things with a sinking feeling in her chest, the color draining from her face. Her mind was void of all thoughts as she detachedly closed the leather bound book and felt herself standing up from the table. Holding the book limply in her hands, Hermione allowed her feet to carry her out of the library and down several hallways, unaware of her surroundings.

"Hermione?" she discerned a confused voice issuing from her left. Her eyes wandered lazily, foggily realizing that she was in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Hermione? Hello?" Hermione snapped to attention when the owner of the voice started waving a hand in front of her face. She looked up to see Sirius in front of her, a bewildered expression on his face.

"Are you okay? Your eyes look...blank," he said, nervously laughing before freezing. "You're not under the Imperius Curse are you? Professor Warren said unfocused eyes are a sign -"

Hermione interrupted, trying to keep a solid grasp on reality, "No, Sirius, I'm not under any curse. I'm going to see Professor Dumbledore right now." She turned on her shaky legs, her knees buckling under her. Hermione could barely process that she was even falling when a pair of strong arms caught her.

"Easy there, 'Mione. How about I accompany you to Dumbledore's office. You don't look too well," Sirius said, placing Hermione back on her feet.

She nodded absently and started off to Dumbledore's office again, this time with Sirius' hand firmly clutching her shoulder.

"Are you sure you don't want to see Madam Pomfrey first?" he asked concernedly as they walked along the empty hallways.

"I'm sure," Hermione said faintly. Internally, she was trying to reassure herself that Dumbledore would know what to do. Maybe he even knew a way around the spell, she told herself desperately. She had to get back. Harry and Ron needed her. The Wizarding World needed her, for Heaven's sake! She chastised herself, angry that she had forgotten all about the book and her duties in the present – well, _her_ present.

"Hermione, we're here," she registered Sirius' voice saying. She blinked and turned her gaze upwards, seeing that they were standing in front of the stone gargoyles guarding Dumbledore's office.

Nodding her thanks to Sirius, Hermione said "Pepper Imps." The gargoyle spritely sprang aside and revealed the winding staircase leading up to Dumbledore's office. Taking a deep breath, Hermione stepped onto the staircase and let it carry her to the tall oak door. She knocked loudly, her heart pounding deafeningly in her ears. It was here that she would unveil the _complete_ truth. If Dumbledore couldn't do anything about her terrible dilemma, then she was sure no one could.

The door opened, revealing Professor Dumbledore. "Hello Miss Granger. I was just about to go down to dinner. What brings you to my office?" he asked kindly.

"Sir, this is very urgent. May I please step inside? It concerns how I got here."

"Of course, come right in," he said quickly, swiftly sweeping her into the room and into a chair. He settled himself behind his desk and said, "Now, what have you discovered?"

Hermione silently handed Dumbledore _A Travel Through Time,_ which she had been clutching in her arms.

After examining the book, he placed it on the table and turned his piercing blue gaze on Hermione.

"Miss Granger," he began, taking a heavy breath laden with defeat before continuing, "I'm sorry to say that what the book says is indeed true. You will not be able to return home."

Hermione felt as if stab wounds were being inflicted on every surface of her body. Dumbledore, her last hope, was confirming what she had already thought to be true. She refused to let the tears gathering in her eyes to fall. She hadn't cried once in her stay here, and she didn't plan on starting now. Crying would get her nowhere.

Wiping her eyes impatiently, she struggled to bring her entire mind back to reality.

"Sir," she began, "the book said something about my future never being the same again...does that mean I could change the future?"

A dim twinkle returned to Dumbledore's eyes and a faint smile graced his lips as he answered Hermione's inquiry. "That's exactly what it means."

Hermione's heart sped up again, her chest almost bursting with the energy coursing through her. Changing the future could mean so many things. She could save James and Lily, giving Harry parents. She could defeat Voldemort. She knew exactly how to kill him, seeing as she knew the secret of the Horcruxes. She could have Dumbledore form the Order now instead of in a year or two, getting a head start on hunting down Death Eaters. She could save Sirius from a lifetime of imprisonment in Azkaban...

Dumbledore's voice edged Hermione from her thoughts. "I am aware that you are very educated on the workings of the future. But, you must understand, that changing one event can lead to the changing of something else, and then another thing, and so on. It can have a domino effect on the course of things. So you must not change things lightly, Miss Granger."

Hermione only nodded. Everything Dumbledore said had made perfect sense to her.

He continued, "Now, Miss Granger, I want us to begin to change events, but we must do it gradually. What is one thing that you see it as crucial for us to change?"

Hermione answered almost immediately, "You need to form the Order of the Phoenix now, rather than in a years time as you did previously. It is a group of reliable, able fighters that you put together to face Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters."

Dumbledore nodded, a pensive look on his face, "That sounds understandable. I was actually wondering what you meant when you said 'members of the Order' were fighting the night you came here. I'll begin searching for trustworthy witches and wizards to join the Order's ranks. There is only one more thing I wish to know at the present time. Do you know how to destroy Voldemort?" At this, Dumbledore laced his hands together and rested them on the desk, peering at Hermione imploringly.

Hermione gulped, "Yes, Professor. I do. But it's going to be a long process. Sir, do you know what Horcruxes are?"

Dumbledore's semi-relaxed stance automatically stiffened. "How many?" he asked quietly.

"In my time, there were 7. But in this time, I believe there are 5 currently made," Hermione said, fear blossoming in her stomach at Dumbledore's apparent unease.

Dumbledore took a moment to process Hermione's statement before saying, "I did not anticipate that development, but we will have to make do. I think that is a sufficient amount of information for me tonight."

Hermione nodded and made to get up, but Dumbledore's voice stopped her. "Before you go, I must impress upon you the seriousness of this situation. If you ever decide to disclose your true identity to a fellow student, please do it with the utmost discretion. If the truth about your identity were to be revealed to the wrong person, your life could be at stake."

"Of course, sir," Hermione said shakily, making her way out the door.

Hermione navigated her way down the stairs as carefully as she could, thoughts buzzing in her head incessantly. No words could explain the range of emotions she was feeling. She felt despair because she would never be able to share the same kind of relationship with Harry, Ron, or her family ever again; happiness that she would be able to make a better future for her beloved friends; and apprehension and fear about how she was going to manage that feat.

She felt like a different person when she exited through the stone gargoyle where, to her surprise, Sirius was still waiting.

"Is everything alright? You took a bloody long time in there. I was worried. Hell, I'm still worried," he said, grabbing Hermione's hand gently.

"You could have gone to dinner, you know. I'm okay," she said quietly, staring at their intertwined fingers. Another thought began plaguing her mind, one that she immediately deemed stupid to even consider. She couldn't help but hope that her permanent home in this time meant that she could pursue a romantic relationship with Sirius.

"Don't be stupid," he said, shaking his head. "Of course I wasn't going to just leave you. And you are obviously not okay." As he spoke, he began to lightly pull down the corridor, in the direction of the Common Room.

"Okay, fine, maybe I'm not okay. But I will be," she said, mechanically putting one foot in front of the other.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Hermione noted that Sirius kept hold of her hand the whole time. She tried to focus on Sirius' hand in hers as a method for abating the emotions threatening to spill out of her at any moment. To her pleasure, the technique was, for the most part, successful.

She registered Sirius saying the password to the Fat Lady as well as him helping her into the empty Common Room. The rest of the Gryffindors were still eating dinner in the Great Hall.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked quietly. "Did something happen to your family or friends?"

Hermione's heart clenched painfully. "My family and friends are fine. Great, even. I don't want to talk about it. Not yet, at least," she said, knowing that Sirius would understand.

He nodded and pulled the two of them down to the couch. Tentatively, she lent her bushy haired head on his lean shoulder. Almost immediately, Sirius' arms were securely around her, just like the day of the Hogsmeade disaster.

She felt her worries momentarily drain out of her body as Sirius began lightly drawing circles on her back. An overwhelming, odd sense of calming came over her.

Maybe being stuck in this time period wouldn't be horrible, but Hermione knew that comforting moments with Sirius would do nothing to quell her yearning to be back with Harry and Ron.

**A/N: **Thanks for reading! Please review! :)

~Amanda aka leafhouse


	9. Unveiling the Truth

**A/N:** I loved writing this chapter and I hope you all enjoy it! Thanks to all of the readers :) Also, special thanks to my supermegafoxyawesomehot beta reader TheOneAndOnlyGlitter, who put up with my minor freak outs today haha.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 9 - Unveiling the Truth**

_Screaming and yelling filled Hermione's ears as dust and rubble fell from the ceiling and walls. People ran in all directions around her, fighting to get to safety from the unknown danger. Fear dominated her brain as she felt herself being jostled by the skittish crowd. She began moving quickly along with them, no thoughts running through her confused mind. _

"_HERMIONE!" strangled voices yelled from somewhere behind her. Turning abruptly, she ran in the direction of the voices, as she felt an unexplainable need to reach its owners. She pushed past people scurrying the opposite way uncaringly, the safety of those two people driving her forward._

_Her heart rammed against her ribcage as she caught sight of Harry and Ron, both held captive by an invisible force in an abandoned classroom. They yelled in relief at the sight of her. _

"_I'll get you out, I promise," she said desperately to her two helpless friends. They only nodded, their eyes blank as Hermione went to work. _

_Whimpering in fear, Hermione tried to break through the impenetrable boundary fruitlessly. Every spell she tried rebounded off the seemingly empty doorway. She shouted out as her growing anger mounted as she realized that none of her efforts were lessening the strength of the shield._

"_Harry, Ron, nothing will work!" she said, only to see her two friends growing lighter, fading, until they could no longer be seen. _

_Hermione's yell was caught in her throat as she heard a high, cold voice issue from only inches behind her, a voice that made her hair stand on end. _

"_I knew my little plan would work. You, a loyal friend of Potter's, would do anything to save him or any of your little friends. That will come to an end now. Face me; I want to see the light leave your eyes as I kill you," Voldemort said with a humorless laugh. _

_Defiantly, but still quaking with fear, Hermione turned, her hand clutching her wand tightly. _

_Voldemort's cold, red eyes gleamed with pleasure as he rose his wand swiftly. _

"_Avada Kedav -" _

"Hermione! Oh, why isn't she waking up?" Hermione vaguely heard Calenna say as she suddenly awoke, breathing heavily.

"Hermione! Alice, Mariella, she's up!" Calenna said, helping Hermione sit upright. A light film of cold sweat covered Hermione's skin. She processed the shivers that were flitting through her as she calmed her breathing.

"Are you okay?" Mariella asked, her face pale. "It seemed as if you were having a seizure in your sleep. You were thrashing around and you wouldn't wake up." Alice and Calenna nodded in agreement.

Hermione took a deep, shuddering breath before answering. "I'm okay. I was just having a nightmare." At their doubtful expressions, she said, "Really. It was just a nightmare. Nothing to worry about."

"Maybe you should see Madam Pomfrey. It seemed like more than a nightmare," Alice said quietly, her forehead creased in nervousness.

Hermione shook her head, stubbornly repeating, "I'm fine."

Although still skeptical, the girls nodded and began readying themselves for the day. Hermione shakily stood up from the bed and followed suit.

It had been 7 days since she had discovered the truth about her predicament. For the past 7 nights, she had been having increasingly vivid nightmares. They all consisted of scenarios, most of which had never happened, in which she failed to save Harry and Ron and then was subsequently murdered by Voldemort. She had never shown any outward signs of her nightmares until this morning.

All of Hermione's attempts to resist succumbing to depression were failing. She surrounded herself with her roommates and the Marauders, allowed Sirius to comfort her (although he had no clue what was saddening her), and threw herself into her schoolwork. Dumbledore had not asked her for anymore information pertaining the future while Hermione was anxious to begin changing things for the better.

After throwing on her robes and carelessly running a brush through her tangled hair, Hermione followed her roommates out of the dormitory. They were more subdued than usual, visibly concerned for Hermione.

"Good morning, ladies," Sirius greeted them with a bow. He paused as he noticed their less than enthusiastic greeting. "What's up with you guys?"

"Hermione pretty much had a seizure this morning and she won't let us do anything about it," Mariella said, her arms crossed.

"I did not have a seizure," Hermione said through clenched teeth. She was flattered by their concern but couldn't help feeling angered.

Sirius rushed over to her side, concern etched in his features. The girls whispered to each other briefly and left for breakfast, leaving Hermione and Sirius alone.

"Are you okay? Was it another one of your nightmares?" Sirius asked, taking her by the hand and leading her out of the portrait doorway. Sirius was the only person Hermione had been confiding to about her nightly torments. She didn't give him the specifics, but he knew about them to an extent.

Hermione nodded. "This one was the worse by far," she said quietly, so the students passing them in the halls wouldn't overhear. "I woke up trembling. The girls said I was 'thrashing'." She laughed bitterly. Here she was, twenty one years in the past, and she still couldn't escape the fear and terror that Voldemort and the war instilled in her.

Sirius moved his hand from hers and put his arm comfortingly around her thin shoulders. "I wish there was something I could do about your nightmares. Maybe Madam Pomfrey can give you a dreamless sleep potion," he suggested, squeezing her shoulders affectionately. Hermione leaned closer to him, reveling in the comfort he exuded.

"I'll speak to her later," Hermione told him, her spirits slightly uplifted at the thought of a solution to her terrible nights.

Upon reaching the Great Hall, they made their way over to the Gryffindor table, where the girls, along with Remus and Peter, were beginning to eat their breakfast.

"Where's James and Lily?" Sirius asked as he sat himself and Hermione down next to Calenna, who was absently staring at Remus.

"I don't know," Mariella answered. "Who knows what they get up to in the Head tower?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, causing Remus and Peter to choke on their eggs. Sirius just shook his head.

"I doubt James would do anything you were implying with Queen Lily. She would never let him get _that_ lucky," Sirius said, happily digging into his breakfast.

Hermione rolled her eyes and picked at her own small breakfast of toast and bacon. Calenna averted her eyes from Remus' face and examined Hermione. She looked exhausted and drawn, her skin constantly pale with dark circle surrounding her eyes.

"Are you sure you're well, Hermione? You still look ill," she said, peering at Hermione.

"I'm fine," Hermione said for what felt like the hundredth time this morning. Pushing her full plate away, she got up from the packed table. "I think I'm going to get a head start to Charms. I'll see you guys there," she said, forcing a smile on her face.

"I'll go with you," Sirius said automatically, polishing off his last piece of bacon before joining Hermione in her walk to Charms.

"You know they're all just worried about you, right?" Sirius said to Hermione as he purposefully led them on a longer route to the classroom.

"I know. I just feel agitated this morning," Hermione said, feeling a little ashamed.

Sirius nodded. "That's probably due to the fact that you haven't been sleeping well for a week. Hopefully, with the help of the potion, you'll feel better tomorrow," he said with a smile. Hermione couldn't help but smile at his optimism.

"I hope so," she said, unconsciously looping her hand in his. Holding hands with Sirius had become a habit of Hermione's. It provided her with a comfort she couldn't find anywhere else in this time. She viewed it as strictly platonic – although the warm feeling she got in her stomach when their hands touched contradicted how she saw it.

"Hey, the first Quidditch game of the year is next Saturday. You're going, right?" Sirius asked, wanting to steer the conversation into a less stressful topic for Hermione.

Hermione smiled. Quidditch reminded her of Harry and Ron due to the constant obsessing over it. "Of course," she said. "I wouldn't want to miss James and Mariella playing against Slytherin."

Sirius inwardly sighed in relief. Although Hermione kept him in the dark about what exactly was making her so withdrawn, he could sense that she was becoming more and more detached from others and her life with each passing day. He refused to let her drown herself in sorrow.

They reached the Charms classroom with only seconds to spare, their conversation distracting them. The pair walked into the room just as the bell was ringing and managed to get into their seats just as Flitwick entered the room to conduct the class.

* * *

The first half of her day flew by hazily. Hermione felt as if she was running on autopilot: she walked into her class, took notes, practiced the assigned spells, and repeated the actions again and again until the school day was over. She had trouble taking pleasure in her work as she once had. She even missed scolding Harry and Ron and then relenting and helping them with their last minute homework.

Before Hermione knew it, it was lunch time. Her appetite was practically nonexistent, but she knew she had to attend lunch to keep up appearances. She followed her fellow Gryffindors absently as they maintained raucous conversation, making jokes and teasing each other.

"Hey, Hermione," Lily said, a soft smile on her face. She had been avoiding the antics increasingly loud Marauders. "How has your day been?"

"Good. Not too much work to do today," Hermione answered vaguely. "Hey, where were you at breakfast? The others were wondering where you and James could have gone."

Lily immediately glowed a crimson red. "Oh! Um, James and I were just working on same last minute Ancient Runes homework. Nothing important." Lily said hurriedly. "Oh, look! Steak and kidney pie is for lunch today!"

Hermione smiled slightly at Lily. She knew for a fact that Lily was lying, seeing as (1) Lily never left anything for 'last minute' and (2) James wasn't even taking Ancient Runes.

Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table for a total of ten minutes until the noisy bustle of the Great Hall began to make her head ache.

"I think I'm going to head to the library, guys. See you in Potions," she said quickly as she got up from the table and left the Great Hall.

"There is something up with her," Remus said, his eyes on the door Hermione had just exited.

The girls nodded in agreement. "She always looks so devastated," Calenna said worriedly. "Maybe she misses her friends in America?"

"That may be a contributing factor, but I think it's bigger than that," Remus responded, thoughtfully. "I think there's something she's not telling us."

"You think she's lying about something?" Lily asked doubtfully.

"Not lying, just excluding something important about herself," Remus corrected.

James and Sirius remained quiet, shifting slightly in guilt. Both knew that Hermione was not an ordinary transfer student when they take into account the fact that she inexplicably appeared from a blue light in the middle of the night. However, they refused to betray Hermione's trust by telling the others about that fact when she so obviously did not want them to know about it.

"I think we should try to get it out of her," Remus continued. "We can't help her if she refuses to tell us what's wrong."

"That sounds like we're violating her privacy," Mariella said uncertainly. "I mean, I do want to help her, but maybe there's a reason why she isn't telling us."

Remus opened his mouth to respond, but the bell signaling the end of lunch cut him off. "We'll finish talking about this later," he said, ending the conversation.

However, Sirius had no intention of waiting until later to find out what was affecting Hermione so greatly. What the others had said had got him thinking; the only way to help Hermione was to dig to the root of the problem. Sirius knew that to get there, he would have to do it without the help of his friends.

* * *

The bell signaling the end of the day sounded loudly throughout the school. Hermione sighed in relief, wanting nothing more than to go to the Common Room and curl up on the couch with some homework; a tedious yet comfortably quiet activity.

Rather than flocking down to the Great Hall with the rest of the school, Hermione immediately made her way to the Common Room, her heavy bag resting rather painfully on her shoulder.

"_Caput Draconis_," she said wearily to the Fat Lady. Stepping into the empty Common Room, Hermione dropped her book bag onto the hard, wooden floor and fell heavily onto the couch.

"I knew I'd find you in here," a voice said from the corner of the Room. Hermione was instantly tense and ready to reach for her wand when Sirius emerged from the shadowed corner of the room.

"Don't scare me like that, Sirius," she said, relaxing slightly as Sirius sat down next to her.

Ignoring her statement, he said, "Why aren't you at dinner? I know for a fact you ate nothing at lunch."

"Sorry, _Dad_, I'll try to eat more tomorrow," Hermione quipped, glaring at Sirius.

"Hey, no need to get mad. I just don't want you fainting on me," Sirius said, his hands raised in defense.

Hermione softened. "I'm sorry," she groaned, dropping her head in her hands. "I'm sorry for being so grouchy and irritable towards you. You've been nothing but nice to me and I've been nothing but ungrateful."

"Hey, that's not true," Sirius said, making Hermione look up him. "You've been surprisingly composed for someone who seems to have been through so much. I understand if you're ever moody."

"Sirius, that's just it," Hermione said, standing up from her seat on the couch. She began pacing the room in a nervous energy. "You have no idea why I'm even acting this way, yet you're so understanding."

Sirius got up and grabbed Hermione's arm to stop her from pacing. "You can tell me. Just trust me. I want to help you," he said quietly.

Hermione stared into his gray eyes. She could tell he was being honest by the innocent way in which they shone.

Letting go of any quandaries she had maintained before, she accepted Sirius' compassionate offer.

"My name is Hermione Jean Granger." Sirius looked at her confusedly, but remained silent and let her continue. "I was born on September 19, 1979. I'm from the future."

**A/N:** Hope you all enjoyed it! Please review :)

~Amanda aka leafhouse


	10. Unveiling the Truth Pt 2

**A/N: **Hello readers! I cranked this chapter out before this upcoming weekend destroys my livelihood. Thanks to all who reviewed and alerted the last chapter :) Hope you all enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 10 - Unveiling the Truth Pt. 2**

Hermione's declaration permeated the empty Common Room. Sirius' already gentle grip on her arm slackened, until he withdrew his hand entirely. The deadly silence rang in their ears.

Hermione eyed Sirius cautiously, unsure of what the baffled expression on his face signified. Sirius treaded backwards until the backs of his legs hit the couch, his confused grey eyes never leaving Hermione's face as he sat down.

"Sirius..." she began quietly. He interrupted her before she could continue her statement.

"You're just winding me up, aren't you?" Sirius asked with a weak laugh. "James put you up to this, right?"

Hermione shook her head sadly. Of course he would hope that talk of such an outrageous situation would be a mere joke.

"I'm not joking," she said, a solemn tone to her voice as she sat down on the plush couch adjacent from Sirius.

"But that's impossible!" he said incredulously. "No one can travel that far back. Time turners only allow for travel a few hours back. There's no other way to time travel."

A humorless, sad laugh forced itself out of Hermione. "There are other ways. Many other ways. Ways that have been called the stuff of legends and myths. I traveled by way of a highly dangerous and complicated spell."

"Why haven't other people attempted to use these spells then?" Sirius challenged, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and disbelief.

"The use of these spells are forbidden by the Ministry. Also, these spells aren't child's play. They are highly difficult to perform," Hermione said. She had expected Sirius to doubt the truthfulness of her confession, but hoped he would believe her soon. Dumbledore's warning from last week repeated in her head, but she felt that she could fully trust Sirius.

Sirius sat in silence, a hand placed pensively under his chin. Hermione never took her wide, hopeful, sad eyes off of him, hoping to see any sort of emotion flash across Sirius' unreadable face.

After five minutes of silence, Sirius abruptly glanced up, meeting Hermione's chocolate stare. He looked into the wide brown orbs and knew that she was telling the truth. He hoped it wasn't a trick his brain was pulling on him. Sirius wanted nothing more than to believe what Hermione said, no matter how outrageous it sounded.

"I think I believe you," he said quietly. Hermione exhaled a breath that she did not even know she had been holding. However, Sirius _thinking_ she was being truthful was not satisfying to Hermione's stubborn brain. She needed Sirius to believe her fully, and she knew the exact way to gain his complete acceptance.

"I can prove it," she said, equally as quiet.

Sirius' eyes widened. What could Hermione possibly do to prove that she had done such an unimaginable thing? Sirius was, by nature, open minded, but such lengthy time traveling was unthinkable even by Wizarding standards. Although he did believe what she had told him, the concept of traveling this far back in time was an unknown entity. He nodded for Hermione to continue, less than ready for what she was going to tell him.

"You, James, and Peter have been Animagi since your fifth year," she began, Sirius' mouth already falling open in shock. "You transform into a dog, James a stag, and Peter a rat. You learned how to be Animagi to travel with Remus on his monthly excursions to the Shrieking Shack, which is accessible through the Whomping Williow. Remus is a werewolf."

"How did you -" Sirius said, his mouth opening and closing in confusion.

"I knew you and Remus quite well in my time," Hermione said, crossing and uncrossing her arms, unsure of how to compose herself. She could hardly believe that after being here for two months, she was finally revealing her meticulously shielded secret.

Sirius' pale visage regained some color. "You knew future me? And future Remus?" he asked, his tense stature relaxing a bit. Hermione, on the other hand, turned as rigid as a board. One thing she desperately wanted to avoid was touching upon the topic of 'future Sirius and Remus'. Just the thought of their tragic futures tortured Hermione.

Reminding herself that she would change their ghastly fates, she forced a smile onto her face and said, "Yes, I did. I'll just say that you two are just as charming as you are now." Hermione hoped that Sirius would not push the matter, although she knew that whatever she dreaded usually came to fruition sooner or later.

However, instead of excitement over hearing about his future as Hermione expected, a look of sudden bewilderment dawned on Sirius' aristocratic features, as if he had just realized a problem. "What about you?" he asked, seemingly puzzled.

"What?" she inquired, growing confused as well.

"Are you going back?" he asked.

Hermione froze as the whole point of this conversation flooded back to her. She had wanted Sirius to understand her reasons acting the way she did, but now that it was reaching time to tell him, she wanted nothing more than to take back her confession.

Clearing her throat to gain a few seconds' worth of time to wrangle in her thoughts, Hermione finally had to answer him. "No," she said, her voice catching involuntarily. "I can't go back. There's no way."

Within seconds Sirius was next to Hermione, his arms enveloping her as she allowed herself to do the one thing she had vowed not to do: cry. The tears came suddenly in heaving sobs, racking her small body as they forced their way out of her. Sirius' arms remained around her as she shook violently, finally releasing the sorrow she had been fighting against.

Hermione's sobs quieted until her tear ducts finally ran dry. To her surprise, Hermione felt a great weight taken off her chest. The combination of entrusting someone with her secret and finally letting her emotions take control removed a great deal of the stress she had been living with.

Looking up into Sirius' face, Hermione let out a watery laugh. "Sorry about that," she said weakly.

Sirius shook his head. "Nothing to be sorry for. It's about time you did that. I'm sorry about your situation," he said, brushing a tendril of unruly hair behind Hermione's ear.

"Don't be sorry. My presence here means good things for the future," she said, reluctantly untangling herself from Sirius' embrace.

"What do you mean?" he asked, keeping a hand on Hermione's forearm.

"The future...isn't so bright," she said tentatively. "Voldemort was taking over, the whole Wizarding world was in danger, and my friends seemed to be dying one by one. I miss Harry and Ron more than I thought would ever be possible, but now I have the chance to give them better lives."

Sirius nodded solemnly, understanding Hermione's reasoning. He noted that she had mentioned two of her friends by name for the first time ever. "Who are Harry and Ron?" he couldn't help but ask.

Hermione smiled dreamily, as if she was lost in thoughts about the two boys. "They're my best friends. The best friends I could ever have. Harry...he's the most loyal and brave person you could imagine. Ron can be a little stubborn, but he always comes around in the end. We were always together. We had our far share of petty fights but when it came down to it, all we had was each other," she said, love apparent in her voice. However, her tone deadened almost instantly as she said, "That's going to be the hardest thing. Realizing that I have to let them go."

"You will eventually," Sirius said gently. "You just need more time. You were ripped from the only world you knew only two months ago." Hermione nodded, knowing that Sirius was right. She just hoped she could accept it sooner rather than later.

Sirius continued, "'Mione... you could tell me anything about the future and I will help sort it out here. So whenever you're ready to tell me about what happened, I'll be more than open to listening."

This time it was Hermione who abruptly fitted her arms around Sirius. Her voice muffled by his shoulder, she said, "Thank you for not pressuring me. Thank you for listening to me."

Hermione lifted her head up slowly, feeling a little embarrassed. She noticed how close Sirius' face was to hers; could see the light, barely there stubble across his cheeks, the navy blue flecks in his piercing gray eyes. The thought of kissing Sirius flew through her head as she could feel him moving closer, until the portrait door slammed open. Hermione pulled herself off of Sirius so quickly that he thought she had managed to Apparate from his arms to the corner of the sofa.

"Did I interrupt something?" James said slyly as he clambered over to the couch across from Sirius and Hermione, splaying himself across it. Judging by the river of Gryffindors that had begun streaming into the Common Room, dinner had just been concluded.

"No, you didn't interrupt anything," Hermione said, although the blush creeping up her cheeks seemed to tell James otherwise. His lips curled into a smirk until the appearance of Lily caused it to disappear. The redhead sat down next to James, a roll of parchment clutched in her hands.

"Hi Sirius, Hermione. Why didn't you guys come down for dinner?" Lily asked, not once looking up from the essay she had begun.

"Yeah, guys. Where were you?" Calenna said as she joined the quartet on the couches, Mariella, Remus, and Peter following close behind.

"We were just talking," Sirius said vaguely, absently laying his arm across Hermione's shoulders, causing her flush to deepen. This was certainly not helping things.

"I didn't know that's what they called 'kissing' these days," Mariella said.

All of them, even Hermione, laughed. They remained in the Common Room, talking and attempting to finish grueling Potions essays, until eleven o'clock. One by one, the 7th years started to sleepily wander up to the warm beds awaiting them in their dormitories.

James rubbed his eyes. "I'm exhausted. Why do we have to patrol the halls for two hours tonight?" he grumbled to Lily.

Lily puffed her chest out importantly, reminding Hermione of the countless times Percy had done the same thing. "Because we're the Head Boy and Girl, James. You knew that this was part of the job when you accepted it." Lily's stern tirade was interrupted when she emitted a large yawn, causing James and Sirius to burst into fits of laughter. Glaring at the two Marauders, Lily gathered up her supplies and placed them neatly into her bag.

"James, we should go now," she said stiffly. Following Lily's directives, James threw his books and parchment into his rucksack.

"Night, mates," James said, waving at his best friend and Hermione as he grabbed Lily's hand (with much protest from the girl in question) and led them from the room.

"Good night, Hermione!" Lily shouted out before the portrait door closed behind them.

"Hey! She just completely ignored me there. What am I, a doorknob?" Sirius said indignantly.

"I think she's mad at you for laughing at her yawn," Hermione said, faintly smiling.

Sirius narrowed his eyes at the door in mock anger before falling back against the couch, tired after their three hour long homework session. Suddenly, he held his arms out slightly and Hermione, knowing what he meant, collapsed into them without a second thought. It was almost as if their discussion from earlier had never ceased.

Hermione felt his lips move against the top of her head as he said, "It'll all be alright, you know. I think you must have been meant to come here. To save your friends. To save the world, as dramatic as it sounds."

She shivered, although she wasn't sure if it was because of Sirius' proximity or because of what he said. She felt how Harry must have when he found out he was the Chosen One. The survival of the Wizarding World lay on her shoulders. Hermione had never felt so scared in her life.

As if reading her mind, Sirius' rubbed her shoulders' comfortingly. "Don't worry your pretty little head," he said. "I'll be with you every step of the way."

**A/N:** Thanks for reading! Please review :3

~leafhouse aka Amanda


	11. Defiance

**A/N: **Hey! Thanks for the feedback from the last chapter :) Enjoy!

**A/N 2: **Sorry if the part with the Slytherins seems a little reminiscent of the other confrontation; I just wanted to remind you guys that they do still exist haha. I also allude to some other things within the scene that will be very important later on in the fic.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 11 - Defiance**

"Wake up, Hermione..." Calenna crooned in a sing-song voice. Remus laughed from his spot on the couch.

"Yeah, Hermione, wake up. You should wake up too, Sirius," he said through his laughter.

Hermione, hearing the voices but not registering what they were saying, groaned. She snuggled deeper into the warm chest directly behind her back. Wait, a warm chest?

Her eyes shot open as she tumbled off the couch and onto the rug, Calenna and Remus roaring with laughter. Hermione rapidly got up off the floor, raking her hand through the bird's nest that was currently her hair. Sirius had not moved a muscle from his cozy spot on the couch; his eyes remained shut and his position relaxed despite Calenna's hyena-like cackling.

"Calenna, shut up, you sound like the Wicked Witch of the West," Hermione grumbled, hoping her especially large hair was covering the blush spreading along her face.

Calenna did turn silent, but not for the reason Hermione intended. "The what?" she questioned confusedly.

"Never mind," Hermione muttered, turning to head to the girls' dormitories but instead knocking her knee into a nearby table. She groaned in pain and sunk back onto the couch.

Sirius' eyes snapped open almost immediately. If he was surprised to see Calenna and Remus staring back at him, he didn't show it.

"Good morning," he said pleasantly, still splayed across the sofa.

"How did you wake up without one of us pouring water on your face?" Remus asked, bewildered.

"I heard Hermione hit her leg on the table," Sirius said simply.

"Callie was cackling like an old hag, yet you wake up to the sound of a knee hitting a table?" Remus asked, still flabbergasted. This time it was Calenna's turn to blush in embarrassment, seeing as Remus had unwittingly compared her to an 'old hag'.

Sirius simply shrugged and sat up on the couch before pausing. "Did we sleep here last night?" he asked Hermione.

"Yes, I believe so," she squeaked, Calenna surreptitiously stifling her giggles this time.

Sirius just grinned at Hermione and stood up, the model of natural elegance despite the fact he had spent the entire night on a small couch. Flicking a piece of wispy black hair to the side, he admiringly patted the top of Hermione's bushy tailed head before making his way up to the boys' dormitory. Smirking, Remus got up and followed him up the steps.

"Why didn't you wake us earlier?" Hermione demanded when Remus disappeared. She felt slightly mortified to be caught in such a suggestive position with Sirius.

"You're lucky we woke you two at all. Unless you would have preferred us to let you two be caught by the other Gryffindors making their way down to breakfast?" she said slyly, following Hermione as she began walking up to the girls' dormitories.

"Touché, old hag," Hermione said, smirking slightly.

Calenna spluttered incoherently for a moment before stopping at the door to the room, a triumphant smile on her face. "You missed one important part of what Remus said," she said.

"And what was that?" Hermione challenged.

"He called me Callie. He never calls me that," Calenna said, leaning against the door frame, a besotted expression overcoming her face.

Hermione smiled wonderingly at her friend's love-struck behavior. She couldn't help but think that she could possibly allow Calenna and Remus to get together now that the future was no longer set in stone. If only she knew if Remus returned Calenna's blatant feelings of affection towards him...Hermione inwardly shook her head. Voldemort's destruction and the preserving of the Wizarding world, as well as saving countless lives, took precedence over setting up two people who might not even be meant for each other.

* * *

"Look what I got for you!" Sirius sang out as Hermione ate a piece of bacon at the Gryffindor Table.

Hermione looked up curiously only to see Sirius, a large grin on his face, holding a large glass vial filled to the brim with a heliotrope colored potion.

"It's a dreamless sleep potion," he said, sitting down with Hermione and the rest of the Gryffindors.

"Good idea, Sirius," Mariella commented.

"Yeah," Calenna agreed. "Although, I don't think Hermione had too many bad dreams last night."

Hermione glared at Calenna's smirking face, while Remus looked at Hermione curiously.

"Why would you need a dreamless sleep potion?" he inquired, a note of concern in his voice.

Hermione smiled kindly at Remus, glad that the suspicious tone his voice usually had when questioning her was absent. "I've been having some pretty terrible dreams lately. Although, Calenna was right. I didn't have any foul nightmares last night." She stared at Calenna in mock defiance.

Calenna just rolled her eyes and sent Hermione a reluctant half-smile.

James joined in the conversation. "Are you feeling a bit better, Hermione? You look a little more refreshed than usual. And you're actually eating for once."

Hermione nodded, slightly surprised that they paid such close attention to her actions. She suddenly felt ashamed for worrying them. Smiling, she said, "I'm feeling quite better. Thanks James."

He nodded, returning her smile with a silly grin. "I think we should begin to head to Charms, mates," James suggested, getting up the table. The others nodded in agreement and quickly finished up their meals. Lacing his fingers with Lily's, he led the large group out of the Great Hall.

"Where's Mariella?" Peter asked, noticing her absence.

Calenna smiled slyly. "She's been spending a lot of time with that Hufflepuff, Darren Brown. The one that took her to Hogsmeade."

"That reminds me," Lily said, "what ever happened to you and Paul Patil? Didn't he invite you to the first Hogsmeade trip?"

At this statement, Hermione saw Remus' eyes darken slightly. She inwardly smiled in satisfaction.

"Oh," Calenna said, visibly deflating a bit. "I ended things. I wasn't too interested in him."

At this, Hermione saw Remus' amber eyes brighten.

"Well, isn't the purebloods and their pack of half-bloods and Mudbloods." They heard a female voice drawl from behind them. Almost immediately, James and Sirius froze and turned around, anger apparent on their faces. Hermione, on the other hand, turned to Bellatrix and her sniggering cronies calmly, despite the fact that her blood turned cold at the sound of that contemptuous voice.

"I think you may be losing your audacity, Bellatrix. I'm almost entirely sure that you said something very similar to that during our first pleasant meeting. I was expecting something a bit more cruel the second time around," Hermione said coolly.

Bellatrix's eyes narrowed into two dark brown slits. The Slytherins abruptly stopped snickering. Hermione could see Regulus lingering behind the others, but the look on his face shocked Hermione. His eyes were directed at the back of Bellatrix's head, alight with something Hermione could only identify as hatred.

She sensed a sudden movement from her left, where Sirius stood, his back hunched as if prepared to attack if the Slytherins attempted to physically or magically injure them.

"Don't you dare speak to me that way, Mudblood," she said, her upper lip curling in disgust.

"How dare you call Hermione that!" Sirius yelled, lunging at Bellatrix. Hermione, Remus, and Calenna grabbed the back of his robes to stop him doing something completely irrational.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing, _Sirius_," she said, spitting his name as if it tasted particularly bad in her mouth. "But, obviously, your _friends _are more important to you than those you're related to by _blood_," Bellatrix said, hatred puncturing each word.

"You disgust me. I would hurt you myself if you were worth going to Azkaban for," Sirius growled out. Hermione couldn't help but shiver at the menace in Sirius' normally genial voice. She was not aware of what had exactly transpired between the Black cousins to make them utterly loathe each other.

Both groups remained silent, watching the showdown between Sirius and Bellatrix.

"You better watch yourself, and your dirty little friends too," Bellatrix spat out. "You never know just who might come after them." The tone of voice she conveyed suggested that she knew something that they didn't. She smiled condescendingly at the quiet Gryffindors before leading her thuggish followers away. Regulus sent a fleeting look at Sirius before being swept away with the rest of the Slytherins.

Hermione grabbed Sirius by the arm gently and led him away from the scene of the heated argument, the others following in silence. Lily rubbed an angry James' back comfortingly as they walked together to Charms, substantially less cheery than before.

However, Hermione couldn't help but feel fear mingled with the grumpiness that followed Slytherin confrontation. She hoped that Bellatrix wasn't suggesting that the group had a spy within them. A spy that Hermione sensed went by the name of Peter Pettigrew.

* * *

"Don't let those barmy arseholes get to you!" Mariella said fiercely after the others had told her of this mornings' events. They had to wait until dinner time to enlighten her on the events of the morning.

"We're not letting them get to us, we're just angry," James grumbled, stabbing his chicken with a fork viciously.

"I think that constitutes 'letting them get to you'," Mariella said, rolling her eyes.

Hermione opted out of the conversation, preferring instead to remain a silent support system for the equally quiet Sirius. She watched him stare his plate full of food down, his knuckles glowing white as he gripped his fork. Hermione knew that any confrontation with his family set him on edge.

Reaching over, she loosened Sirius' lethal hold on the innocent fork, her russet eyes finding his stormy gray ones. He relinquished his grip, a slight bit of anger leaving his eyes.

"Sorry," he said, smiling at Hermione half-heartedly. "They just always have a way of slithering back into my life when all I want to do is disassociate myself from them forever."

"Those you dislike the most often have a tendency of making their presence known as much as possible," she said, thinking of Voldemort.

Sirius nodded in assent, but before he could answer her, a voice issued from behind them. "Hermione Granger?" the voice squeaked.

Hermione turned in surprise, only to see a timid Gryffindor 2nd year boy standing behind her, clutching a triangular piece of parchment that looked vaguely familiar to Hermione.

"Yes?" she asked kindly.

"Professor Dumbledore told me to give this you," he said, relaxing at Hermione's apparent friendliness. She accepted the note from the 2nd year, swiveling around in her seat when he walked away.

Sirius eyed the note curiously. "Are you going to open it?" he asked quietly so that none of the others heard.

Tugging off the thin thread that held the parchment closed, Hermione opened the neatly folded note. She held it slightly aloft so Sirius could read it as well.

_Dear Miss Granger, _

_Would you be so kind as to visit me in my study after dinner? _

_Thank you, and sorry for any inconvenience this impending visit may have caused. _

_Sincerely, Professor Dumbledore_

_P.S. I enjoy Sherbert Lemons._

Hermione smiled to herself; this note was not much unlike the ones that Harry had received so often during their 6th year. Sirius, however, looked at her confusedly. "Why do you think Dumbledore wants to see you?" he asked curiously.

"He knows of my situation," she said so quietly that Sirius barely caught what she said.

Realization dawned on Sirius' face. "What do you think he wants to tell you?" he questioned.

Hermione looked around nervously. "I'll tell you the whole story some other time. It's too dangerous to say anything in such a public environment," she said, getting up as she did. "I should go see Dumbledore. See you in the Common Room?"

Sirius just nodded, a pensive look on his face.

Deciding not to question what he was thinking about, Hermione made her way to Dumbledore's office.

"Sherbert Lemon," she said upon reaching the gargoyle. It sprang aside to allow her onto the spiraling staircase. She knocked twice on the tall door, a nervous energy coursing through her in anticipation.

The door opened. "Ah, Miss Granger," Professor Dumbledore said pleasantly. "Do come in."

Once Hermione was settled into a comfortable chintz chair, Dumbledore spoke.

"Miss Granger, I am ready to begin to embark down the road that leads to the end of Voldemort's power struggle," he said. "However, I want to take this process one step at a time. I believe the main root of his power lies in his followers."

Hermione interjected, "Sir, with all due respect, I disagree. Voldemort has creat-" Dumbledore held a hand up to stop Hermione from speaking further. She confusedly stopped talking, her eyebrows raised.

"You are more educated than I on future subjects. But, for my part in this, I wish to begin by asking you for a list of Death Eaters currently at large, not ones that may still be students in this school. I suspect that the way you wish to destroy Voldemort ultimately involves murdering him, and that is something I do not wish to do," he said, clasping his hands together.

Hermione nodded, her face a mask of acceptance. "I'll create a list tonight, Sir, and deliver it to you tomorrow."

Dumbledore nodded. Viewing this as her signal to leave, she turned and left the office. Upon exiting, her carefully arranged expression disappeared, giving way to one of contemplation.

Dumbledore refused to learn of the true dangers that laid ahead as well as the actual extent of Voldemort's treacherous power. The gears churning in her head hyperactively, Hermione realized what she would have to do. She couldn't see Dumbledore being too upset with her secret decision; even he admitted that he was substantially wrong in a fair few situations.

A defiant expression overcoming the thoughtful one, Hermione changed directions and began walking to the library for comforting session of research. The particular subject she wished to educate herself on was not exactly pleasant, but it would be more than beneficial in what she wanted to do. The subject in question was Fiendfyre.

If Dumbledore wasn't going to destroy the Horcruxes, it looked like she was going to have to do it herself.

**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed it :) Please review!

~Amanda aka leafhouse


	12. Tell the Others

**A/N: **Thanks for all the reviews/alerts/etc for the last chapter! This one is a little longer than usual :) Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 12 – Tell the Others**

As surreptitiously as she could, Hermione crept along the countless rows of books, taking down anything that remotely alluded to containing information about Fiendfyre. As she expected, it was not an easy task. The library did not hold many books that spoke of the forbidden spell, but she did manage to find two books, one thin and one huge and dusty, that spoke of the ancient spell.

Carefully sliding them into her worn bag, Hermione made her way to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"I was wondering where you had gotten to," Sirius said to her as she entered the room. He was sitting between James and Remus on the couch in front of the roaring fire.

Hermione shot a tired smile at him. "I got a little distracted in the library," she said, dropping into an empty armchair, her bag falling onto the floor with a loud _thump_.

"Where are the girls? And Peter?" Hermione asked, her tone slightly wary when asking about Peter.

"Mariella's serving a detention with McGonagall. She _accidentally _pushed Snape into a suit of armor after dinner and Minnie saw her. Shame," James said, a mischievous smirk on his face. "Lily had a Slug Club meeting," he continued, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

"Paul Patil had asked to talk to Callie as we where leaving the Great Hall. I guess she's still with him now," Sirius said, his eyes still on the parchment he was carelessly scrawling on.

An involuntary, strangled-sort of noise of anger and anguish sounded from Remus. The others turned in surprise to look at the now red-faced 7th year .

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Got something you want to tell us, Moony?" James looked as if he was about to burst into a fit of unmanly giggles. Hermione glared at him in warning while her body moved forward until she was at the edge of her seat, anticipating Remus' response.

"Uh- it's nothing," Remus mumbled, averting his eyes down to the book in his lap.

"Come on, Moony," James said coaxingly. "We promise we won't laugh. Remember that time I told you about that dream I- okay, let's not go into that. But you didn't laugh at me then, so I guess I owe you one."

"What dream? You didn't tell me about a dream," Sirius said, slightly affronted.

James opened his mouth to talk, but Hermione quieted him. "Let Remus talk," she snapped fiercely.

Remus eyed his three friends hesitantly, contemplating telling the truth or fleeing the Common Room. However, his decision was made for him when Calenna and Mariella burst into the slowly emptying room.

Sirius and James groaned in defeat, while looked Remus both relieved and happy. Hermione noted the spark that came to his eye when Calenna sunk down on the couch, right next to him.

"How about Peter? What's he up to?" Hermione asked.

James shrugged. "Not too sure. He sneaked off after dinner," he said carelessly, gathering his books together. Only Sirius saw the worried look that crossed Hermione's face, but didn't question her.

"Well, I'm off to find Lily. See you all in the morning," James said, waving as he exited through the portrait hole.

Sighing, Hermione pulled the thinner of the Fiendfyre books from her bag and began to read wearily, hoping the book provided adequate instructions on how to cast and effectively control the illegal curse. She shivered at the thought of what would happen if she managed to ignite the entire school with the cursed fire.

Whilst reading, Hermione heard Calenna speak tremulously to Remus. She couldn't help but peer over the top of her book to catch a glimpse of their exchange.

"Uh, Remus," Callie said, an uncharacteristically nervous inflection to her voice.

Remus looked up in surprise at Calenna. "Yes, Callie?"

She involuntarily smiled at the sound of her nickname. "I was wondering if you could help me with that bloody hard Potions essay. I didn't quite understand what Slughorn was saying about unicorn hair and its uses in potions," Calenna said, a lock of hair falling over her eyes.

Remus' keen eyes darted to the piece of hair. Hermione could have sworn she saw Remus' hand jolt upward quickly, as if he wanted to put the hair back into place. However, the fleeting moment passed and instead, with a slight smile, he said, "Sure. Want to sit at that table by the window?"

Calenna nodded and, grabbing her bag, walked over to the table, Remus following close behind.

Hermione, a pleased smile on her face, made to return her attention back to the book. However, it turned out that she wasn't the only one eavesdropping on Remus and Calenna's conversation.

"Did you see that?" Sirius said in disbelief to Mariella and Hermione, whispering so that the pair at the table couldn't hear. "They were just flirting!"

Mariella and Hermione exchanged a knowing look but didn't answer the flabbergasted Sirius. The girls quietly returned to their various activities while Sirius gaped at their blatant ignorance of him.

After only a minute of silence, Sirius gasped. Hermione looked up in alarm. "What is it, Sirius?"she asked confusedly.

"They like each other, don't they?" he asked, motioning to Calenna and Remus.

Mariella laughed. "By Merlin, he's got it!"

"Wow, who would have guessed? Moony has the hots for Cal," he said, glancing over at the currently laughing pair.

"Too bad neither of them will do anything about it," Hermione mumbled.

"Oh, they will soon," Sirius said, his eyes flashing with mirth.

Hermione chose not to counter his remark and instead focused her eyes back to the almost miniscule text of her book.

It was almost eleven when Mariella decided to bid Sirius and Hermione goodnight, leaving them as the sole occupants of the Common Room. Remus and Calenna had gone up to their consecutive dormitories only minutes before.

A few moments after Mariella had meandered up the steps, Hermione snapped her book shut. Sirius did the same, rolling up his finally completed essay.

"Sirius, I have something to tell you about my...situation," Hermione said nervously, her hands shaking slightly. Sirius automatically sat up straight, nodding for her to continue.

"I...I know how to kill Voldemort," she said quietly.

Sirius' eyes widened. "Really?"

Hermione nodded. "I wanted to tell you yesterday, but I thought the fact that I was from the future was enough outlandish information for the day," she said.

Sirius laughed. "I thought that was the surprise of a lifetime, although now I could only imagine what other things you're hiding about the future," he said jokingly. Hermione couldn't help but feel as if her insides had been doused in cold water; she doubted that Sirius would really be able to imagine the true horrors that not only had been the fate of his friends, but the fate of himself as well.

"Well, how do we destroy old Voldie?" he asked, trying to keep the mood light. He could sense that Hermione was under a great deal of stress at the prospect of killing the Darkest wizard ever known.

To his surprise, Hermione shook her head rapidly. "I only told you because I owe you at least that much. I don't want to get you involved in this," she said stubbornly, bringing her knees up to her chin.

Sirius shook his head as well, although he wasn't surprised at Hermione's desire to do things on her own. Grabbing Hermione's hands, he earnestly said, "You don't owe me anything. I help you because I want to...because I care. And I told you that I will be there for you every step of the way. This is the next step on what I would wager is going to be a long road. 'Mione, let me help you. You can't do this on your own."

Hermione stared into his honest grey eyes silently. She knew Sirius was right; her, Harry, and Ron could barely destroy all of the Horcruxes. Plus, she didn't even know where they were currently located, let alone how to accurately destroy them. Sighing, she nodded at Sirius.

A broad grin broke out across his face. "Good! Now that that's settled, back to my previous item of business. How do we destroy Voldie?" he asked, letting go of Hermione's hands.

"He is, essentially, immortal," she said bluntly. "He has created Horcruxes, objects in which he has concealed parts of soul. Horcruxes are a particularly complex bit of Dark magic. One could only make a Horcrux after killing a human. These are what prevent Voldemort from ever really dying. If we destroy all of them, which will involve a long search because I do not know the exact location of them, he will be mortal once more. And that is when I will be able to kill him," she finished, a dark tone to her voice.

Sirius nodded, trying to swallow everything Hermione had just told him. "How many Horcruxes?" he asked.

"Seven in my time, but only five in this time," she said wearily, rubbing her eyes.

"Hermione," he said, once again taking her limp hands in his. "Even if it's two of us involved in this 'long search', I don't think we will be successful. It might be years until we find all of them, and even if we were to find them, they will probably be protected by all sorts of enchantments. We will need more help," he said cajolingly.

Hermione knew what he was alluding to: tell the others. Once again, Sirius was exactly right. They needed all the help they could get.

"Alright," she said. "I'll tell them everything tomorrow."

* * *

The next day, Hermione was a nervous wreck. What if they didn't believe her? What if they refused to help? How would she avoid having to include Wormtail in her truth telling session?

As luck would have it, Hermione found a perfect way to avoid having to bring Peter along.

During Transfiguration, Hermione casually flicked her wand and whispered _Confundus _under her breath. Professor McGonagall didn't especially appreciate Peter fumbling the words of the proper incantation, which had effectively turned his rock into a venomous snake rather than a crystal goblet. Needless to say, Peter got a week's worth of detention.

Hermione did feel bad about doing this to Peter, but after Bellatrix's chilling statement and Peter's frequent absences, she couldn't help but feel that he was going down the same path as last time.

The rest of the day went by relatively quickly, something Hermione wasn't sure if she appreciated or hated. Before she knew it, she was walking up the winding Grand Staircase with the others, who were jabbering exuberantly. She felt slightly bad that she was going to nip this happiness in the bud in only a few minutes with her confession.

"Guys," she said, attracting their attention.

"Yeah, Hermione?" Remus asked curiously.

"I actually have something that I would like to tell you all. But, I don't want to do it in the Common Room. Do you all trust me enough to allow me to lead to a more private area?" she asked, subconsciously holding her breath as she awaited their answer.

They looked at Hermione confusedly, unsure of what she wanted to tell them, but nodded nonetheless. Exhaling, she lead them off the staircase and onto the 7th floor, finally stopping in front of a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.

James laughed. "I've never seen a more private place. No one will hear us in the middle of a corridor!"

Hermione glared at him before speaking. "All of you, pace three times in front of this tapestry with only one thought in your minds: _I need a place to speak to my friends."_

They all looked at her blankly; even Sirius was confused as to where she was going with this.

"Just do it, okay? You'll understand in the end," she said, crossing her arms. Finally, they all nodded and heeded Hermione's request. She joined them as they walked in front of the tapestry three times. They all gasped as a large, heavy door materialized where the tapestry had once been.

Pulling the door open, Hermione led her friends into the warm, comfortable room. Plush sofas sat in the center of the room in a square formation, a small fire was crackling in the grate, and red and gold banners adorned the walls.

"Wow, what is this place?" James asked, awestruck. The others murmured similar inquiries.

"It's the Room of Requirement. Whenever someone is in a particular need of a room, he or she can just walk three times in front of the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy with whatever they need in mind, and it will pop up in here. The room is Unplottable so it doesn't show up on the Marauder's Map," explained Hermione.

James just nodded, impressed. Remus, however, halted in his tour around the room.

"How do you know about the Marauder's Map?" he asked, wide-eyed. The others had also stopped in their tracks, eyes darting from Hermione to Remus and back again.

"Why don't we all sit down and I'll tell you all...the truth," she said to her quiet friends.

Nodding, they all sat down on the couches. Remus didn't take his suspicious gaze off of Hermione's face. Sirius took a seat next to Hermione, squeezing her hand in support. Once they had all sat down, Hermione looked each of her dear friends in the eyes. Each pair of eyes held confusion and anticipation. She paused on Remus, who was looking at her distrustfully. Finally, she began speaking.

"I had two best friends. For the most part, we were inseparable. They were the only best friends I had ever had." Sirius looked at Hermione in surprise. He did not know where she was going with this story, but he had a hunch that she was going to reveal things to them all that even _he_ didn't know.

"Ron Weasley was one of them. He ate more than anyone I ever knew," she said, laughing slightly. "He was fiercely loyal to both Harry and I. We had so many fights and mishaps; I remember once we didn't talk for months. I knew that everyone predicted that we would end up married with ten children by the time we were 40."

Hermione felt Sirius' grasp on her hand loosen. She tightened her hold on his hand and continued her story. "My other best friend was Harry. I've never met a more brave person. He had been through so much...I don't know how he never cracked in a major way," her voice turned slightly hoarse at the thought of Harry, but she plowed on. "It is through Harry that I know about the Marauder's Map. Because Harry's full name was Harry James Potter. He was your son, James. And my best friend," she said, staring at a wide-eyed James, Lily clutching his arm.

"But that's impossible," Remus said, incredulously. "How could have been best friends with James' son? James doesn't even have a son! You would have to be from..." he trailed off, looking at Hermione in disbelief.

She simply nodded.

"What? She must be from what?" Mariella asked, her voice slightly shrill.

"She's from the future," Calenna said faintly. "Right?"

"Yes, I'm from the future," Hermione affirmed.

"You've got to be kidding," James said, shaking his head and weakly laughing. "How could you be from the future?"

Hermione launched into the tale that was her journey to the past: Voldemort and his Death Eaters gaining power, the Battle of Hogwarts, the spell that sent her here, and her discovery that she was stuck here forever as well as the fact that her future was no longer the same. Her heart caught in her throat as she asked them for their help in destroying the Horcruxes and, ultimately, Voldemort, as it was the only way that they could have better lives.

When she completed her story, the others stared at her in silence, each with a different expression of awe on his or her face.

Finally, Calenna spoke.

"I believe you," Calenna said. Mariella and Lily nodded in agreement, although their minds were still reeling.

Hermione breathed in relief. Getting up, she made her way over to the girls, hugging them in thanks. "Thank you," she repeated as she embraced the three of them.

She made her way back to the sofa that she had been occupying with Sirius, who immediately reclaimed her hand.

"You believe her, Sirius?" James asked, his face pale. Sirius nodded automatically.

"Of course," he said. "The loss of everything she has ever known is what is to blame for her sometimes despondent behavior. How would you feel if you were taken from this time and projected backwards, away from your parents, Lily, and us?"

Exhaling through his nose, James finally nodded as well. "Okay, I believe you Hermione. If my son trusted you as his best friend, then I should too." He smiled.

Hermione laughed weakly. "Thanks, James," she said, smiling gratefully at him.

Only Remus remained doubtful.

"How do I know this isn't some _extremely _elaborate prank that you all are playing on me?" he asked.

Sirius sighed; he knew that only one thing would assure Remus that Hermione was being nothing but truthful.

"She knows," Sirius said to Remus. "She knew you and I in her time. She knows about you," he said to Remus cryptically; the girls (sans Hermione) knew nothing of Remus' lycanthropy.

Remus immediately paled, his stare turning to Hermione. "Really?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"Yes," she said, making direct eye contact with Remus. "I've known all along."

Trembling slightly, Remus said what Hermione had been desperately wanting him to.

"Alright. You're from the future," he said, finally believing her.

Calenna clapped her hands together, breaking the tense silence that still hovered in the room. "Alrighty then!" she said loudly. "Who's ready to hunt down some Horcruxes?"

**A/N: **Eep! There it is! They all know about Hermione's secret. Horcrux hunting and romance between both Sirius/Hermione and Remus/Callie is to come :) Hope you all enjoyed. Please review!


	13. Kids in Love

**A/N: **Hello! As usual, thanks to all of my delightful readers for the reviews and any other form of recognition you all have doled out to my story, whether it be alerts or favorites or simply just reading. I appreciate it so much. I know I say this a lot, but I really do! :) Sorry for the wait! This chapter is Remus/Callie centric, but don't you fear! There is some Hermione/Sirius in this chapter. The rest of the story is Hr/S centered anyway, so I figured we'd take a slight break from them haha. Anyway, enjoy :D

* * *

**Chapter 13 - Kids in Love**

_Calenna clapped her hands together, breaking the tense silence that still hovered in the room. "Alrighty then!" she said loudly. "Who's ready to hunt down some Horcruxes?"_

"And how are we supposed to do that exactly?" James asked skeptically. "These objects are bloody powerful and I reckon they will be little buggers when we try to destroy them. How are we even going to find them?"

"Well," Hermione began, "I know where one is. I know where another will eventually be. As for the others, I'm not so sure where they are located, but let's just say that I have a better grip on things than last time," she said grimly.

"You've hunted these down before?" Sirius asked incredulously.

Hermione nodded. "Harry, Ron, and I had the task of tracking them down and destroying them. We managed to demolish five of them before I was sent here."

The others looked flabbergasted. "Why did you all have to do that? Aren't you only seventeen? Weren't you guys still attending Hogwarts?" Lily asked, aghast.

"I was eighteen actually," she said, skirting around Lily's question. It was a question that she hoped to never answer. At that moment, she vowed never to tell the others of their terrible futures. Why worry them if she was not going to let the same things happen again?

Her simple statement managed to throw James off track. "You're a year older than us!" he accused.

Hermione smirked. "Actually, I'm two years older. My birthday was September 19th, so technically speaking I'm nineteen."

"No way!" Sirius hollered. Hermione nodded, rolling her eyes, thankful that she had distracted them from Lily's question. Lily, however, narrowed her eyes at Hermione, sensing that she was hiding something, but didn't push the subject.

"Back to the serious topic at hand," Remus said, quieting down James and Sirius. "How are we even supposed to destroy these Horcruxes?"

"Fiendfyre," Hermione said simply. "A Horcrux can only be destroyed by that which is stronger than it. Sending normal, everyday destructive spells at it will do nothing to diminish the piece of the soul that is concealed within."

Remus nodded understandingly, while the others looked at Hermione, incomprehension written across their faces. "What is Fiendfyre?" Calenna asked.

"It's an everlasting fire. It can never be extinguished. That's what makes Fiendfyre so dangerous. I'm starting to read up on it so when we do decide to begin destroying Horcruxes, we'll have an efficient way of doing so. It's important that I learn how to control it, unless I want to set the castle on fire," Hermione explained.

"I'll start studying Fiendfyre too," Remus volunteered.

Hermione nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Remus," she said.

"Anything else, Hermione?" Mariella asked.

"Just...don't tell anyone else. You can obviously talk about it to anyone else in the group but not with anyone I didn't include. Okay?" Hermione said, hoping with all of her energy that no one questioned her failure to include Peter. To her relief, they all nodded.

"Of course, Hermione. We wouldn't think of telling anyone else," James said breezily, taking hold of Lily's hand. He pulled himself and Lily off the couch. "I think we should make our way back to the Common Room. It's almost past curfew."

Murmuring sounds of agreement, the others left their comfortable positions on the couch and silently exited through the heavy oak door. Sirius made sure to walk with Hermione, the pair of them bringing up the rear of the quietly chattering group.

"I'm sorry for not telling you everything first," Hermione said quietly.

Sirius shook his head. "Don't worry. I'm not angry. Besides, you only had to tell the story once this way," he said, a hint of a grin on his face.

Hermione didn't answer; she simply nodded her comprehension and remained silent. Sirius could tell she was mulling stressful subjects over in her head, her face involuntarily conveying the different emotions she felt.

"What are you thinking about?" Sirius inquired softly.

Hermione hesitated, but knew that Sirius was the one person who could successfully quell any fears she maintained. "I'm scared," she admitted quietly to him. "What if one of them gets injured in our search? Harry and Ron both got hurt multiple times, but there were only three of us then and it was slightly easier to watch out for only two people -" Hermione was cut off by a finger on her lips.

"It's alright to be scared," Sirius said, removing his finger. "But try not to worry so much. Just take it all as it comes. There's a Quidditch game coming up on Saturday, and Christmas is around the corner. There are many things to look forward to. Not everything has to be about the Horcruxes," he said coaxingly.

Hermione reluctantly nodded. "I'm not going to let the Horcruxes slip my mind," she warned, but relented to Sirius' wishes, "but I will try to relax a bit."

"Good girl," Sirius said, patting her on the head. She swatted his hand away as he simply laughed.

"Hey, Lily and I need to turn here. The Heads' Tower is this way," James said. "See you tomorrow, mates." The others muttered 'good night' and continued on their way to the Common Room.

"_Caput Draconis,_" Remus said clearly. They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady in the nick of time; the clock had just chimed ten o'clock.

"Bugger homework, I'm off to bed. Good night," Mariella said only seconds after entering the emptying Common Room.

Calenna, on the other hand, groaned in frustration. "I have a bloody long Transfiguration worksheet that I still have to do," she grumbled.

"Oh, I did mine last night!" Sirius said brightly. "You can just -"

"I can just help you with it, Callie," Remus interrupted. "You don't learn as well by just copying, you know," he said, slightly sheepish.

"Thanks, Remy," Calenna answered, grinning. Remus' face flushed red as Calenna steered him towards a table nestled in a secluded corner.

"Did you see that?" Sirius asked, clearly affronted. "He just interrupted me! And then Callie ignored me!"

Hermione laughed. "I think it seemed to Remus that you were moving in on Callie. I don't think he wanted to be outshined by you," she said, grinning mischievously.

"Fair point," Sirius said, gracefully falling onto their regular couch in front of the fire. He then patted the space next to where he sat, his eyes sparkling as they looked into Hermione's. Purposefully sighing dramatically, Hermione plopped down next to Sirius. His arms immediately circled her, a little too tight for Hermione's comfort.

"Sirius?" she said, her voice muffled by one of this muscular arms, "you're kind of choking me here."

He immediately dropped his hold on her, although one arm remained around her shoulders. "Sorry," he said, unabashedly. "I just wanted to show you how proud I am. For telling everyone," he clarified.

"Thanks, Sirius," she said, smiling lightly at him.

"I just have one question...Why didn't you bring Peter along?" Sirius asked quietly. He wasn't sure why, but he had a bad feeling about the answer.

Hermione's heart plummeted as she froze in Sirius' arms. He could feel her sudden change in mood; her previously relaxed body went tense almost immediately. The calm air of the room seemed to have been sucked away by his innocent question. Sirius felt guilty at bringing discomfort to an already extremely stressed Hermione, but the tugging feeling of curiosity he felt won out.

Hermione weighed the consequences of telling Sirius the truth. She was almost one hundred percent sure that telling Sirius the truth would cause him to go off his rocker and probably murder Peter. However, if she told him, it would be a much more plausible reason for keeping Peter out of their future conferences.

Sighing, Hermione decided that a half-truth would have to do. Choosing each word with care, Hermione said, "In the future...Peter does something unforgivable. Not only by my standards but by the Marauders' standards as well. Telling him of my...situation would probably result in the deaths of all of us." As she said this, she made unwavering eye contact with Sirius. Her heart rate increased as she saw his bright eyes transform to eyes smoldering with hate.

"What did he do?" he asked, his voice a deadly whisper.

Hermione couldn't help but shiver at Sirius' tone, but stood steadfast in her vow not to tell him a morsel of the terrible truth. "I can't tell you, as you would surely kill him. Don't shun him!" she said fiercely. "Shunning him would guarantee that he will go on to do the same exact thing as last time. Treat him as if you know nothing of his future actions. There is a chance that he won't go down the same path," she said, her voice conveying the graveness of the situation.

Although his face remained hard, Sirius reluctantly nodded. "Alright. I won't stop being his mate," he agreed. "But can you agree to tell me eventually?"

Begrudgingly, Hermione agreed. "Fine. As long as you help me keep Peter out of the loop as well as quell any other of the others' curiosities when they begin to wonder why I haven't included him," she said.

His face losing its tautness slightly, he nodded once more. "Deal," he said simply.

Breathing a sigh of relief that she had managed to keep Sirius' temper under control, Hermione stood up.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Sirius asked.

"Bed. We do have classes tomorrow you know. I would rather not look like a zombie when I wake up. Good night," she said, turning towards the stairwell.

"Don't forget to take your potion!" she heard him holler as she reached the door of the girls' dormitory.

Sighing, Hermione smiled as she changed into her dressing gown. Taking care to drink exactly a gulp of her dreamless sleep potion, she quickly got into bed and laid her bushy head on her pillow. All worries of Peter and the Horcruxes drifted out of her mind as the potion overtook her senses, sleep coming almost as easy as when she fell asleep on the couch with Sirius.

Sirius, on the other hand, went to bed that night with nothing but Peter on his mind, his stomach churning as he thought of the monstrosity of an act he must have committed.

* * *

Hermione awoke to the curious sensation of someone tapping lightly on her forehead.

"Good morning, Hermione," Calenna said brightly from her perch on Hermione's bedside table.

"Is there a reason you're waking me up in such an odd fashion?" Hermione asked blearily, her eyes foggy.

"Oh, there's no reason," Calenna said airily, hopping off the table with a dreamy grin on her face.

"There must be a reason," Hermione said as she hefted herself out of bed.

"Well, it _may_ be because I think Remus likes me!" Calenna shouted, suddenly jumping onto her bed in a flurry. The lovestruck girl's almost evil laughter worried Hermione slightly, but then again, when did Calenna ever _not_ display the tendencies of a maniac?

It was then that Hermione noticed that the dormitory was empty despite herself and Calenna.

"What did you do with everyone?" Hermione asked, astounded. Based on the sun's position in the sky, Hermione knew it couldn't be more than seven o'clock. The other girls usually slept to at least 7:30, and even then it took a great effort (an effort often involving a pitcher of water) to wake them up.

"Oh, I woke them up. They threatened to push me off the Astronomy Tower, but then they just went down for breakfast instead," Calenna said, giggling, apparently unconcerned with death threats at the present time.

Shaking her head, Hermione quickly dressed, not even bothering to pay much attention to her hair. "Why don't we go to breakfast, Callie?" she cautiously suggested to the overly rambunctious girl.

Hermione was shocked when Calenna calmly got off the bed, flattened her already neatly tamed hair down, and followed her out of the dormitory as if her excited frenzy had never occurred.

"How did you do that?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Do what?" Calenna asked quite innocently.

"You were just throwing a fit upstairs!" Hermione said, her frustrated voice on the verge of a shriek.

"Oh, that!" Calenna said, waving a hand carelessly. "I just needed to get that off my chest. I don't want Remus thinking I'm a nutter, do I?"

Giving up on trying to understand the inner workings of Calenna's mind, Hermione just followed the now slightly subdued girl to the Great Hall.

* * *

"Good morning!" Calenna trilled as her and Hermione reached the Gryffindor Table.

The others, who were understandably tired, muttered 'good mornings' in return. Remus sent a tired grin at Calenna.

Calenna simply sat next to Remus and attempted to engage him in lively conversation. Hermione, however, spotted the tell-tale pale, green tinged skin that signaled to her that the full-moon was approaching. She sent Remus a sympathetic smile. To Hermione's confusion, his eyes immediately brightened as if he had just gotten an idea.

"Excuse me, Callie," Remus said gently to the exuberant girl. Perplexedly, she stopped mid-sentence and nodded. "Hermione, may I speak to you?" Remus then asked.

Feeling as puzzled as Calenna looked, Hermione followed Remus out of the Great Hall, the others looking after them curiously. He led her to an alcove located at the side of the Entrance Hall.

After assuring himself that no one was around, Remus turned to the silent Hermione. "I have a question," he began. Hermione nodded that he continue, feeling slightly apprehensive. "In the future...is there a cure for my...condition?" he asked hopefully.

Hermione's heart flooded with sadness for Remus, wishing she had good news to tell him. However, she knew that she had no choice but to shake her head. "No, Remus. There isn't a cure." Her heart ached as the hopeful light in Remus' face was extinguished.

"But, there is a potion that lessens the symptoms and allows you to keep your human thoughts during the full moon," she said, attempting to sound optimistic. Remus' amber eyes brightened slightly.

"That sounds better than nothing," he said, cracking a slight smile. "At least I have something to look forward to."

Hermione smiled, trying to keep the sadness out of her eyes. Remus didn't deserve to go through this, but she knew there was nothing she could do. "Don't worry Remus. You'll always have your friends. The Marauders, Callie, Lily, Mariella, and myself will never desert you. Especially Callie," she couldn't help but add in hopes of cheering Remus up with the mention of the girl he so obviously liked.

Hermione expected the embarrassed flush that the topic of Calenna usually brought to Remus' face. Instead, Remus' eyes darkened. He shook his head. "She'll probably die of disgust and/or fright if she ever found out who I really am," he said despondently, lowering his voice as people began milling out of the Great Hall.

"Of course she wouldn't!" Hermione said, shocked that Remus felt this way. She was convinced that even if Remus confessed to being a woman, enjoyed the taste of human blood, and had a sixth toe on one foot, Calenna would still be as enamored with him as she is now.

"I like her, Hermione. A lot actually. On the off chance she did like me back, my lycanthropy would send her running as fast as she could in the opposite direction. I don't deserve her. I don't know how she didn't shudder at the way I look today," Remus admitted with a grimace, shaking his head in shame.

Hermione opened her mouth to fiercely put down Remus' claims, but was silenced when another voice spoke.

"Is that what you really think?"

Remus turned around, his heart hammering against his rib cage. He thought his heart was about to fail when he saw Calenna standing in front of him, her hands on her hips, a defiant glint to her doe brown eyes.

Hermione took this lapse in conversation as an opportunity to flee the scene, leaving Remus and Calenna alone.

"Calenna - " Remus choked out before she put up a hand to silence him.

"I can't believe you think I'd react that way. I found out in 5th year and, lo and behold, I'm still alive!" she said, moving closer to Remus.

"You've known since 5th year?" he managed to stammer out. "But you didn't tell Hermione or anyone that you _knew_ that I'm a monster?" he asked, amazed.

"Lily and I figured it out. You're not discreet. We do have access to moon charts, you know," she said, rolling her eyes. "And you're not a monster. Why would I tell Hermione or anyone else? You're a werewolf. I don't give a damn. I still want you just as much," Calenna said, her eyes widening at the audacity of her own statement.

Remus stuttered incoherently for a moment, barely believing Calenna's confession. Thankfully, Calenna decided to continue riding out her bold streak and closed the space between herself and Remus. He quieted fairly quickly when Callie's lips found his own as they finally kissed. Warmth spread through every part of Remus' body, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. He vaguely processed Callie's hands weaving their way into his hair as she stood on her tip toes to deepen the kiss. Subconsciously, his hands wound tightly around her waist.

After what felt like hours, they pulled away from each other, both of them gasping for breath. The Entrance Hall was now empty. Remus had the suspicion that they were both extremely late for class, but he found that he didn't care in the slightest.

Remus stood there in a daze, unsure if he was dreaming or awake. Calenna gladly clarified it for him when she whispered in his ear, "By the way, I actually like you a lot too."

**A/N: **Yay! They're finally together! Next chapter will be more Horcrux oriented, as well as more Hermione/Sirius oriented :D A Slytherin friend might begin coming into play soon ;) I'll try to get the next chapter out before Monday afternoon. I will traveling all next week so I'll try my hardest to get a update out before my brief absence! Please review :)


	14. The Horcrux Hunt Begins

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait! I have been super busy for the past two weeks but I managed to write this chapter over the course of Saturday and today while I should be reading a book for school thats due Tuesday... oh well. I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer haha. Anyway, as usual, thank you all for the reading, reviewing, favoriting (not a word), and story alerting! The next update should be out sometime next week :) Enjoy!

**A/N 2: **An anonymous reviewer posed the question: What about Tonks? While I am a Remus/Tonks shipper for the most part, I'm afraid that the pairing wouldn't fit in with the way I want my story to go. There is no option of them getting together in this story because of the crazy age difference (I'm pretty sure she's an infant at this point in time). Also, they wouldn't necessarily have to get together in the future since Hermione is going to change everything anyway. Hope this makes sense! :)

* * *

**Chapter 14 - The Horcrux Hunt Begins**

_Taptaptaptap. Taptaptaptap. Taptaptap - _

"Sirius, if you don't stop tapping that damn quill of yours I swear I'll hex your hand off!" Lily whispered furiously, glancing up to make sure Professor McGonagall didn't hear her threat.

"Sorry, Lily. I'm just bored," Sirius said, shrugging, tipping his chair back precariously. "And hungry," he added as an afterthought.

"Well, lunch is in only two minutes. Distract yourself in some other fashion," the redhead grumbled, redirecting her attention back to McGonagall's lecture.

"I'm bored," Sirius reiterated, this time to Hermione.

Without lifting her head from her meticulously taken notes, Hermione said, "How about you pay attention in class for once?"

"Well, that would just be boring. Besides, when would I ever have to change a rat into spoon?" he said, all of his weight supported by two weak chair legs.

"The most unexpected spells can come in handy no matter the situation," Hermione murmured, her mind involuntarily wandering to Harry's many uses of _Expelliarmus _in circumstances of dire danger.

"I don't see this spell helping us defeat -" Sirius began, before the shaky leg of his chair snapped off. He was sent flying to the left, hitting the ground with a smack. The class' attention almost immediately went to Sirius, who was now sprawled out on the ground, holding his side in apparent pain. James and Lily burst into laughter, the rest of the class following their lead.

Hermione made to get up to help him, but he just grinned lazily from his position on the ground. He didn't even flinch when the shadow of McGonagall loomed over his body, her mouth a thin, white, dangerous line.

"Black, what is the meaning of this?" McGonagall asked, the expression of fury on her face immediately silencing the snickering students.

"I believe my chair broke, Professor," Sirius said innocently, casually standing up from the floor.

Before McGonagall could open her mouth to reprimand him, the lunch bell rang. His movements almost cartoonish in their rapidity, Sirius sent a hurried Reparo charm at the chair and grabbed Hermione by the hand. She had roughly two seconds to gather her parchment and quill before being pulled out of her chair and from the room.

"Are you insane? She's going to shower you with detention slips next class," Hermione said in a hushed tone, her eyes wide.

Sirius simply laughed. "You can talk at regular volume now, you know," he said, shaking his head in mock shame.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh along with him. At this, James bounded over to them, pulling Lily by the hand.

"That was great, mate!" James said, thumping Sirius on the back. "I thought she was going to breathe fire!"

"I'll breathe fire if you two don't get a move on. We're holding up the hallway," Lily said, eyes narrowed.

"Sorry, Lily bug," James said, leading the quartet from the busy Transfiguration corridor.

"He's whipped," Sirius said in a stage-whisper to Hermione. She laughed when Lily swung her schoolbag into his stomach.

"Unnecessary violence!" he choked out, clutching his abdomen. "I already hurt my side falling. This is just intensifying my pain!"

"Sorry, Sirius," Lily said, smirking to herself.

"Anyone could easily say the same for you, just saying," James said over the sound of Sirius' whining.

Pondering James' statement, Sirius finally nodded in agreement. "Touché. That is very true," he said unashamedly, carelessly tossing an arm around Hermione's shoulders.

Hermione blushed the rest of the trip to the Great Hall.

"Ah, chicken for lunch," James sighed contently, plopping down at the Gryffindor table and almost immediately beginning to eat. Lily looked at him disgustedly before following his initiative, albeit more neatly and with less food spilling from the corners of her mouth.

"I wonder where Remus and Callie are," Sirius voiced his thoughts, grabbing some chips as he did. "They didn't show up to Charms _or _Transfiguration. That's not like Remus at all. Callie misses like three classes a week out of laziness but Remus would rather feed his parents to the squid than miss class."

"Weren't you speaking to Remus before Charms?" Lily asked Hermione curiously.

"Oh yeah! Calenna overheard Remus and I talking about..." she trailed off, not wanting to continue out of fear of spilling the beans on Remus' condition to Lily.

Sirius and James exchanged looks of panic upon understanding what Hermione was alluding to. They both trusted Calenna, but they knew how carefully guarded Remus kept his secret. On top of that, Remus _liked _Calenna. The two Marauders couldn't remember a time in which Remus had openly showed feelings of affection to a member of the opposite sex.

"Don't worry, she won't tell anyone," Lily said nonchalantly, sipping her pumpkin juice without an upward glance.

The other three froze, convinced they misunderstood her. "What are you talking about?" James asked, unable to stop himself from laughing nervously.

Lily scoffed. "I know about Remus, you know. They didn't make me Head Girl for nothing," she said, rolling her eyes, subconsciously puffing her chest out importantly.

"Wow," Sirius said, running a hand through his hair. "Thanks for keeping it...secret."

"No problem," Lily said casually. "By the way, do you lot know where Peter is? I finished correcting his Potions essay for him."

Hermione was the only person who noticed Sirius' whole demeanor change at the mention of the fourth Marauder. The grip on his fork grew tighter as the gray of his eyes darkened to an impenetrable black. Hermione ignored James' answer as all of her focus laid on maintaining the anger she knew was rising in Sirius.

Laying a hand on one of his shaking ones, Hermione said softly, "He's done nothing bad yet."

"He's probably off making a list of people to sell out to Voldemort as we speak," he answered in an angry whisper.

"That's not tru- Oh!" Hermione said, clapping a hand to her mouth.

"What is it?" Lily asked, Hermione's exclamation catching her attention.

"I completely forgot that Dumbledore asked me to make him a list of current Death Eaters," Hermione said in disbelief, keeping her voice down while simultaneously searching her bag for parchment and a quill in a flurry.

Finally finding a suitable scrap of parchment and a slightly bent quill, she feverishly began scribbling down names onto the paper, the others watching her with interest. Sirius felt his sudden agitation ebb away as he viewed Hermione writing down a seemingly never ending list of names.

"How do you know the names of all these Death Eaters?" James asked curiously, his attentive hazel eyes darting back and forth as Hermione speedily wrote.

"At one point or another, I encountered them," she said, her eyes remaining trained on the parchment.

"Wow," Lily said in awe, her expression of disbelief mirrored on the faces of James and Sirius.

"Does Dumbledore known you've told us?" Sirius asked.

"No," Hermione said, shaking her head. "And I intend to keep it that way. He doesn't want to kill Voldemort. He only wants to eliminate his greatest supporters, despite knowing about his Horcruxes. I respect his judgment but he doesn't know the true extent of Voldemort's cruelty," she said, getting up as she did, not giving the others a chance to respond. "I should go give this to Dumbledore before lunch is over. See you in Potions!"

Rushing from the Great Hall, Hermione bounded up the steps as quickly as she could. She finally stopped in front of the stone gargoyles, panting, holding a stitch at her side. "P-Pepper Imps," she gasped out. Taking the stone steps to Dumbledore's office much slower now, she worked at regaining her breath before knocking on the door. She couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive at Dumbledore's reaction to her tardiness in handing in the list.

She jumped slightly when Dumbledore swung the door open. "Miss Granger," he said genially, his blue eyes twinkling down at her. "I take it you have the list?"

"Yes, sir. I'm terribly sorry to be handing it in to you so late. I completely forgot about it," she said apologetically.

"It's quite alright," he said, holding a hand out for the list. She gave it to him carefully, hoping that her speedy journey to the office didn't smudge any of the names. Dumbledore moved to his regally designed chair, his eyes never leaving the hastily written up list.

"This is very informative, yet very shocking. I can't believe so many of my former students have followed this route," he said, shaking his head, the twinkle in his eyes muted.

"Unfortunately, many students currently attending Hogwarts will follow this path as well," she said quietly, sitting down in the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"Not if we can stop it," Dumbledore said, a glimmer of hope in his eye.

"Some students are already in his ranks," she said darkly.

The optimism in Dumbledore's face was extinguished as quickly as it came. "Thank you for the list, Miss Granger. I'll be sure to alert Order members of these names. I'm sure they'll work diligently to get these Death Eaters in Azkaban," he said resignedly.

"No problem, Professor," she said, getting up and making her way to the Potions classroom.

* * *

Sirius ambushed Hermione almost as soon as she took her seat in the Potions classroom. "I think we should meet up again tonight, in the Room of Requirement," he said, his legs bouncing up and down.

"Not so loud!" she hissed, looking around fearfully. The only people in close range were James, Lily, Mariella, and Mariella's Hufflepuff boyfriend, Darren Brown. After assuring herself that no one was eavesdropping, she said, "As long as James and Mariella don't have Quidditch practice I don't see why not. Are you okay? You seem...antsy," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Sirius remained silent before his irritation broke through. "Every time I see him or hear his name I get so angry! I don't even know what he did," he said, shaking his head. Hermione knew the 'he' Sirius was speaking of was Peter.

"I'm sorry that I can't tell you. Maybe after this whole Horcrux hunt is over. But not yet. Okay?" she said, moving her hand from his shoulder down to his balled up fist. He relaxed his hand and let Hermione link their fingers together before reluctantly saying, "Okay, I'll wait."

Just as the bell signaling the start of class rang, Remus and Callie swung in the classroom and dived into the first set of chairs they saw.

"Where have you guys been? You missed Charms _and_ Transfiguration," Lily said, aghast.

"We've just been taking it easy," Calenna said casually, slowing down her rampant breathing.

"Taking it easy? This is NEWT year!" Lily practically exclaimed.

"Calm down, Lily, we'll do fine," Remus said, leaning back in his chair.

"Whoa, what happened to you, Moony? You're just as crazy about school as Lily!" James said, apparently surprised.

"It's just a good day, that's all," Remus said, shooting a significant look at Calenna. Sirius and James simply looked confused, but Lily and Mariella immediately squealed (quietly, of course, so that Slughorn couldn't hear them).

"I can't believe it! You're finally a couple!" Lily said, bouncing in her seat.

"I could cry out of happiness! No more hearing of how Callie is sexually repressed!" Mariella said, grinning maniacally.

"Mariella! I've never said anything of the sort!" Calenna said furiously, although her blush said otherwise. Sirius and James couldn't help but burst into laughter, bringing Slughorn's attention to them.

"Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Black, Potter?" Slughorn asked, his mustache bristling.

"No, sir," Sirius said, his face red with suppressed laughter.

Narrowing his eyes, Slughorn shook his head and went back to his lecture. They had no choice but to pay attention to what Slughorn was saying, seeing as they had already caught his attention. Hermione, however, let her thoughts carry her elsewhere. She had no idea how to feel about Remus and Calenna's newfound relationship. This romantic development could mean that she had just successfully erased two previously existing people from the future: Parvati and Padma Patil. Guilt and anxiety welled within her as she hoped such a change of the future wouldn't cause any other events to be put into disarray.

* * *

"So, where are we going to start with this Horcrux hunt?" Sirius asked that night. The group had congregated in the Room of Requirement, attempting to draw up a basic plan for their ensuing Horcrux journey.

"Well, before we even think about hunting them down, at least two of us need to perfect the use of Fiendfyre. Remus, I brought down one of the two books I could find about Horcruxes. We can try to find some more after we finish with these," Hermione said, tossing one of the heavy books to Remus.

"Well, what about after that?" James asked from his position on one of the couches, his head on Lily's lap. "Do you know where they're located?"

James' question had captured the attention of everyone in the room. They all turned avidly towards Hermione, eagerly awaiting her answer.

"Well, I'm guessing that about three of them may still be in Voldemort's possession, but I know where one of the three will eventually end up. Another one is located in the ruins of Voldemort's mother's old home. The last one is actually in this room right now," she said, reciting from memory.

The atmosphere in the room immediately became thick with fear. "What? Where is it?" Lily asked nervously, glancing around the room as if Voldemort himself was about to spring from the fireplace.

"Calm down. It's not in _this_ room per se. We would have to leave the room and think of a particular request in order for the room that contains the Horcrux to appear," Hermione said soothingly, preferring that her friends didn't lose their heads.

"Don't scare us like that, Hermione," Mariella said, a hand to her heart.

"Sorry," Hermione said, smiling apologetically.

"What do the Horcruxes look like anyway? Are they random objects like a Quaffle or a book or something?" Remus asked, the Fiendfyre book open in his hands.

"Voldemort put his soul into five significant objects. The Horcruxes are a diary, Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's cup, Ravenclaw's diadem, and a ring that belonged to his grandfather," she recited.

Lily's mouth had formed into an 'o' shape. "How'd he get all those items belonging to the founders of Hogwarts?" she asked, eyes wide.

"He's very...persuasive," Hermione said. Lily's eyes widened further.

"He killed people to get those things, didn't he?" Mariella asked, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Hermione simply nodded. "This is all serious, dark business. I understand if any of you want to back out at any time," she said, looking around at her friends.

"We won't back out. Like you said, this is the only way any of us could have happy lives," James said with conviction. The others nodded in agreement.

"Accept it, Hermione. You're stuck with us now," Sirius said, grinning slightly. Hermione just nodded once more, a light smile gracing her lips.

* * *

The "Operation: Destroy the Horcruxes" team (as they had christened themselves) didn't get much planning done. Hermione had told them all she knew about the current locations of the Horcruxes and the history behind how Voldemort acquired each item, although she made no mention of the role Sirius' brother played in their eventual acquisition of the locket Horcrux. Hermione and Remus then spent the rest of the time educating themselves on Fiendfyre while the others concocted plans on how they would carry out their missions.

"When should we meet up again? We can't do it again this week, at least not with Mariella and I. We have practice the rest of the week for the Quidditch game on Saturday," James said as they gathered up the parchment they had scrawled on during their meeting.

"How about in a week's time? Next Wednesday?" Calenna suggested.

"That sounds fine," Hermione said. The others nodded in agreement. "Okay, Wednesday it is."

As they made their surreptitious exit from the room, Lily lagged behind until she was walking next to Hermione.

"Can I ask you a question?" Lily asked quietly, eyes glancing upwards towards James, who was laughing loudly at a joke Sirius had told.

"Sure, Lil," Hermione said, apprehension filling her stomach.

"I was just thinking...you said that you were best friends with James' son. I couldn't help but wonder, well...who's the mother?" she asked sheepishly, biting a fingernail nervously.

This is where Hermione felt herself hitting a dilemma in a head first collision. She could refuse to tell Lily any information at all or she could tell her the truth. Her heart lent almost completely towards the truth. What bad could it do to leak this small tidbit of information? Refusing to tell might cause Lily to break things off with James, a thought that hurt Hermione deeply, although she knew it was selfish to want them to remain together for the sake of her best friend being born.

In the end, Hermione listened to her gut feeling. "You are," she said, exhaling as she relayed the truth.

Lily's face lit up. "Wow. I've never imagined myself as a mother...especially with James as the father...Do we get married?" she asked, a smile crossing her pretty face.

"Yes, you get married to James. I can't tell you anymore, I'm afraid. I shouldn't even have told you that," Hermione said, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Don't worry. I won't tell James. Thanks, Hermione," Lily said gratefully. Hermione accepted her thanks with a smile. They walked in silence for a bit, bringing up the rear of the group. They were just nearing where James and Lily would have to turn for the Head's Tower when Lily spoke to Hermione once more.

"Hermione...I have another question," Lily said quietly.

"Sure. What is it?" Hermione asked.

"Well...why didn't you include Peter in the Horcrux hunt? Did he do something bad in the future?" she asked perceptively. Mariella and Calenna heard Lily phrase the question as well. They allowed the oblivious boys to walk further ahead of them while they drifted back to Lily and Hermione.

"Yeah, we were wondering that as well," Calenna said, making sure the Marauders were a safe distance away.

Hermione felt a wave of nervous nausea pass over her. She trusted these girls more than she had ever trusted her dorm mates in the future, but still couldn't help feeling uneasy at revealing Peter as a traitor. In the end, she decided to tell them what she had told Sirius.

"Yes, he did something bad in the future," Hermione admitted. "We can't involve him in the plans unless we want to hand Voldemort our lives willingly." At this, the girls clapped their hands over their mouths.

"Shouldn't you tell the guys?" Mariella asked, flabbergasted.

"She can't, unless she wants the three of them to murder Peter with their bare hands," Calenna said, keeping her voice low. "Don't worry, 'Mione, we won't tell them."

"Thank you so much," Hermione said, unable to express the true gratitude that swelled within her.

"No problem," Lily said, smiling half-heartedly.

"Lily, we need to turn here," James said, surprised to see the girls walking a far distance behind himself and his two best friends. The girls hastened forward.

"Good night, guys," Lily said hurriedly, dragging James off before he could ask any questions.

"What were you guys chatting about?" Remus asked curiously as they resumed their walking.

"Just girl stuff," Calenna said breezily. The boys immaturely wrinkled their noses and asked no more questions.

Sirius and Hermione found themselves drifting to the back of the group, his hand innocently finding hers. She knew she should tell him that she alerted the girls to Peter's future activities, but couldn't bear to ruin his apparently at ease attitude.

"Everything will be fine, Hermione," Sirius said, sensing the tension radiating from her body. "You just need to relax."

Hermione knew that no matter how hard she tried to follow his advice, relaxation would only come easy after Voldemort was buried six feet under ground.

* * *

**A/N: **Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! Please review! :)


	15. The Diadem

**A/N:** Chicka chicka yeah, posting this before I go to school. I worked on this chapter into the wee hours of the night, neglecting a bit of schoolwork, so I hope you all enjoy it. This is my longest effort yet at nearly 5,000 words. Thank you to all of my readers/reviewers/story alerters :D

**Disclaimer: **I keep forgetting to put these in every chapter, so here it goes: I do not own Harry Potter

* * *

**Chapter 15 – The Diadem**

Hermione heavily ambled down the sloping grounds leading to the Quidditch pitch, her breath visible in the cold Autumn air. Faint screams and yells were audible even from her position near the castle. The wind blew a stubbornly wayward tendril of hair across her eyes. She reached a thin hand up to her face, tugging the wisp of hair behind her ear, her fingers brushing against the dark half-moons beneath her tired eyes.

The past two days had been spent scouring every shelf of the library for any mention, no matter how small, of Fiendfyre. Hermione entertained the notion that a moment not spent researching was a moment wasted. However, intentionally missing class was not an option in Hermione's mind. Skipping lunch, dinner, and sleeping hours were, however, acceptable by her standards.

Hermione was convinced that she had searched well over a hundred books in her seemingly fruitless struggle to learn how to cast the ghastly spell. The others had also joined her in the dedicated, often times feverish, search, mostly in attempts to get her to relent, eat, or sleep. Sirius was the only one with minor success, persuading Hermione to eat a smuggled butter roll when Madam Pince wasn't watching them with her hawk-like eyes.

Hermione rounded the corner of the pitch, walking alongside an uneven row of evergreen trees, grass crunching beneath her feet. She pulled her cloak tighter to her body as a wind chill swept over her. The raucous cheers increased in sound, the voice of the commentator now joining in the plethora of noises. An opening in the pitch allowed her to catch a glimpse of a few players as they flew by in green and red blurs.

"_James_ _Potter has the Quaffle, now Mariella Green, now Potter again. Deftly aimed throw at the goalposts...Ah! Saved by Nott! The score remains 60 – 40, with Slytherin in the lead!" _

The green clad side of the pitch hooted and whistled, although their hollers of happiness were drowned out by the groans emitted from the other three-quarters of the crowd. Hermione lengthened her stride, now approaching the wooden, worn flight of stairs leading up to the elevated stands. She felt excitement well up inside her; Quidditch felt like one of her last connections to Harry and Ron.

After two minutes of climbing, she emerged from the staircase, her russet eyes immediately searching the seats for Sirius. She finally spotted him sitting next to a nervous Lily, who was almost halfway out of her seat, biting her nails nervously. Her green eyes incessantly followed James' flight throughout the pitch.

Remus and Calenna sat behind them, more interested in each other than the tense game playing out before them. Callie's naturally tanned face was glowing with happiness, her large brown eyes sparkling as she laughed. The full moon had passed on Thursday, yet Remus' sickly visage still shone with pleasure at being in Calenna's company, a grin growing on his face as he attempted to clip a red Gryffindor rosette on her head of short black hair.

Sirius, like Lily, looked anxious. However, his eyes drifted nowhere near the field; they darted keenly around the stands, as if he were looking for someone. Hermione began inching her way through the stands, awkwardly brushing past many of the more exuberant fans who were standing rather than sitting. She finally reached Sirius and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologized, attempting to make herself heard over the screaming Gryffindors, the volume increasing by the tenfold as James scored a goal. Remus and Calenna simply waved in greeting, their attention now focused on the game as Mariella managed to steal the Quaffle away from an opposing Slytherin player only seconds after it had gotten in his possession. Lily didn't even notice Hermione's delayed arrival, the game occupying all of her thoughts.

"Where were you?" Sirius asked, worry lines etched on his handsome face. "I've been looking all over for you." He frowned slightly.

"Sorry," she said again, squeezing beside Sirius. "I was in -"

"- the Library and you lost track of time," Sirius finished with a sigh. "Any luck?" he asked, already predicting the answer in his mind.

Hermione disappointedly shook her head, her eyes downcast. "None at all, actually. I'm beginning to think that there's no way to do it," she said, doubt puncturing her tone.

"Don't think that way!" Sirius said bracingly. "You're amazing. You'll find something." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing it in reassurance.

Her face turning pink from the compliment, Hermione muttered something unintelligible under her breath.

"Come again?" Sirius asked, a hint of a smile on his lips.

"I said that I've tired the entire supply of library books that could possibly pertain to the subject," she repeated, clearer this time.

Sirius considered her for a few seconds before saying, "Well, let's not worry about that now. Enjoy the game!" he said, grinning broadly, the all too familiar mirth dancing in his eyes. Hermione couldn't help but envy his careless demeanor as well as his ability to relax so readily.

Reluctantly nodding, she turned her attention to the game, where to her surprise Gryffindor was now in the lead._ Harry and Ron would be ashamed, _she thought,_ I'm at a Quidditch game yet I'm not even trying to enjoy myself. _Sitting up straighter in her seat, Hermione's eyes did not waver from the players as they artfully flailed around on their brooms until Gryffindor won the match, 260 – 120.

* * *

"Arghh," Hermione groaned aloud. Her noise of agitation went unheard by everyone as she slammed a particularly dusty book shut. She was finding it quite difficult to concentrate due to the raucous behavior the Gryffindor victory had invoked in many of her housemates. Deafeningly loud music permeated the round Common Room, frothing butterbeers were passed from hand to hand, and couples thrashed like eels in the center of the room, doing what appeared to be a feverish dance.

Hermione had nestled herself into a chair away from the party, which seemed to be increasing in its activities even though it had begun three hours ago. Every time she attempted to make an escape for the library, an excited Gryffindor would press a butterbeer into her hand with an almost maniacal grin or try to pull her onto the makeshift dance floor. She had lost all contact with Sirius since the end of the match, the mass of Gryffindors preventing them from finding each other.

Hermione emitted a yawn, pressing a hand up to her open mouth to shield it from any flying confetti that had been magicked to zoom in all directions around the room. She couldn't recall the last time she had gotten a full night of sleep, and, although it pained her to admit it, the lack of proper rest was speedily catching up to her. She rested her head on the large book she had been reading, her eyes fluttering shut involuntarily. The loud hollers of her housemates seemed to fade into a dull roar, the sound becoming soothing to her tired brain. She made a slight effort to stop from falling asleep, but the darkness was too enticing. The noisy room died out entirely as she fell into a much needed sleep.

* * *

The first thing Hermione noticed upon waking was that she was in her warm, comfortable bed, a place where she was almost entirely sure she hadn't been when she had fallen asleep. She bolted upright, almost immediately regretting this action as disorientation consumed her senses. Blinking, she examined her surroundings. The girls' dormitory was vacant, the beds made neatly and the window curtains tugged open, letting in near-blinding sunlight.

Still disoriented but with more energy than she had had yesterday, she quickly swung out of bed, showered, and dressed, paying more attention to her hair than she had in weeks. Twisting it into a neat braid, she finally headed downstairs.

The Common Room showed no evidence of the exceedingly messy celebration that had occurred in it only hours before. The floor, couches, and tables were void of all sweet wrappers, confetti, and bottles of empty butterbeer and the fire burned as merrily as usual. The room was almost equally as empty as her dormitory besides a black-haired boy sitting on the couch, his head buried in a book. As soon as he heard Hermione enter the room, his head shot up. She was most surprised to see that it was Sirius.

"Good morning!" he said brightly, closing the large book and bounding off the sofa. She recognized it as the book she had been reading during the party.

"Good morning," Hermione said, albeit not as energetically. "Is it breakfast time?"

"Yep! It's around eleven o'clock to be exact," he said, whisking Hermione from the room and out into the corridor.

"You don't happen to know how I got to my bed, do you? I'm pretty sure I didn't fall asleep there last night," she said, allowing Sirius to casually lope an arm around her shoulders.

Sirius laughed. "I did it," he said as if it was the most casual thing in the world. He led the two of them through a corridor pretending to be a wall, the most efficient shortcut to the Great Hall.

"But what about the steps? They turn into a chute when a boy tries to climb them," she said skeptically, her eyebrows furrowed.

"I have my ways," he said mysteriously.

Knowing she wouldn't get a straight answer out of him, she took a different route of conversation. "Where were you during the party last night?" she asked curiously.

"James and Mariella refused to let me out of their sight! Every time I attempted to get up, they would pull me back down onto the couch and suck me back into their conversation, which was essentially a play-by-play of the match," he said, wrinkling his nose.

Hermione smiled, a chuckle escaping her mouth. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It's okay. Although, I would have rather spent more time with you, even if you were reading and sleeping the whole time," he said, winking cheekily.

Her cheeks were tinged pink, as they always did when Sirius complimented her. No matter how hard she tried to come up with an equally as saucy comeback, she found her head to be empty of all coherent thoughts. Hermione both hated and loved the effect Sirius had on her. The ignorant bliss she often felt around him, how he often rendered her dumbstruck with his actions, how easily it was for him to calm her.

Each time she thought of these feelings an image of Harry and Ron cropped up. The feelings that she had had for Ron faded in the company of Sirius, but she couldn't help but feel guilty at what Harry would think of her unstoppable liking of Sirius Black, his godfather. She knew that her friendship with Harry was over, never to happen again, but she couldn't stop her mind from thinking this way.

Brushing the flurry of thoughts away, she lamely responded by saying nothing at all. Thankfully, she was saved from another cheeky remark as they finally entered the slowly emptying Great Hall. The alluring smell of food distracted Sirius from the conversation. He dragged Hermione over to the Gryffindor table, where Remus, Calenna, James, Lily, and Peter were finishing up their meals. Hermione spotted Mariella grinning as she conversed with Darren Brown at the Hufflepuff table.

"Morning, mates!" Sirius said, clambering onto the bench, pulling Hermione along with him. She saw his eyes darken as they spotted Peter eating amongst his friends, but he said nothing to him when Hermione shot him a cautionary glance.

The others muttered 'hello's, clearly worn out from the victory party. Sirius wasted no time in filling both his and Hermione's plates with slices of bacon and toast and scrambled eggs, ignoring her protests. They ate in silence, Hermione enjoying a much needed meal, the others grabbing seconds.

"Sirius, would you mind lending me your Charms essay?" Peter spoke up, a link of sausage poised by his mouth, his rat-like teeth protruding prominently.

Hermione froze mid-bite, her eyes connecting with Sirius'. She sensed Calenna and Lily copy her actions, Calenna's fork clanking on the table as it slipped from her grasp. James continued eating, oblivious to the girls' mirrored movements, but Remus' keen eyes caught them. He watched discreetly, wondering as to why they were acting so strangely.

Sirius had worked diligently in avoiding Peter as much as possible. The mere sight of Wormtail could anger his easily aggravated temper. The audacity of the traitorous rat to ask him for assistance when he could sense that he was already betraying them was almost too much to bear.

"How about you do your own work, Wormtail," he said coldly with a glare that could have shattered ice. Hermione laid a hand on his knee, hoping that this feeble gesture would calm his rising temper. James had now looked up from his plate, confusion in his eyes.

Peter stammered in response, unsure of how to respond to Sirius' apparent hostility. The sausage link fell from his hand. Fearing an all-out shouting match on Sirius' part, Lily came to the rescue.

"You can use my essay," Lily said with a forced smile that didn't reach her eyes. Reaching into her bag, she extracted a neatly written essay from its depths. The smile still pasted on her face, Lily handed Peter the parchment, her hand involuntarily flinching as it touched his. She widened her smile in an attempt to cover her accident.

"Thanks," he muttered before fleeing the table unsurreptitiously.

"What was _that _about?" Remus asked, his eyes wide with confusion. James nodded in agreement, both of them searching Sirius' face for an answer.

"I'm just annoyed that Peter doesn't do his own bloody work," Sirius said, his voice losing some of its iciness.

James and Remus eyed Sirius skeptically. Before they could ask anymore questions, Hermione got up from the table.

"Well, I'm off to the library! I don't want to waste any time. I can't believe I haven't been there since yesterday morning!" she said, discreetly tugging Sirius up by the elbow. He got up with her in silence.

"I'll join you lot!" Calenna said, her voice heavy with faux brightness. Lily made a noise of assent and smartly led the group from the Great Hall, leaving a puzzled Remus and James behind.

"That was close," Calenna whistled, glancing behind her back to make sure the boys didn't follow. "Are you okay, Sirius?"

"I'm fine. Anyway, how do you guys know about Peter?" he asked, his eyes wide in bewilderment.

Hermione smiled sheepishly. "I told them. I forgot to tell you."

"And you believe her?" he asked in a surprised tone.

They nodded. "I've always thought there was something...off about Peter. I was never sure what was off about him though. It was just a hunch. I guess it was right, though," Lily said thoughtfully.

The small group had subconsciously tread the path to the library. Upon entering, they worked their way back into what was becoming a familiar routine: they headed to a section that looked promising, selected a book each, skimmed each page with alarming speed, and repeated when the book turned up nothing significantly relevant. They had been working efficiently, but with no success, for only an hour when Remus, James, and Mariella entered the library looking as if Christmas had come early.

"I think I've figured it out!" Remus whispered in an uncharacteristically excited voice.

"Figured what out?" Calenna asked, her eyes still trained on the book she was flipping through.

"How to get information on Fiendfyre!" James and Mariella answered simultaneously. They all halted in their activities, giving Mariella and the two boys their undivided attention.

"Well?" Hermione asked eagerly.

They huddled in closer before Remus began speaking. "Well, the Room of Requirement will give you whatever you ask of it, right?" He allowed the others to nod before continuing. "Well, why don't we just ask it for books on Fiendfyre?"

"Genius!" Hermione exclaimed as quietly as she could. "I can't believe I didn't think of that!" she said, thinking of how the Room of Requirement produced books when Harry had used it for DA meetings.

"Very smart, Moony," Sirius said, a wry grin on his face. Remus grinned back appreciatively.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Calenna said. "Let's go get ready to kick some Horcrux arse!" The others laughed, relieved to have an actual plan of action.

"We have to learn how to use it first, still," Hermione said, shaking her head, still smiling.

In their excitement, they didn't notice the dark-haired Slytherin lurking behind a bookcase, a smirk on his pale face as he listened in on their whole exchange.

* * *

A nervously excited energy was tangible as the group made their way to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy in silence out of fear of saying anything too loudly. The Marauders led the girls through a series of shortcuts, most of which Hermione knew due to her prior knowledge of the Marauders' Map. She felt anticipation swell in her chest, her blood pounding in her ears with every step she took. It was almost too much to believe that after all that had happened since her arrival, they were so _close _to finally destroying a wretched Horcrux.

Upon reaching the magical tapestry, Hermione broke the silence. "Think _I need a place with books about Fiendfyre_."

"Eloquent," James snorted.

"Simplicity is key here. We need to be as simple and clear as possible if we want the Room to give us exactly what we want," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. The rest of the group tittered at the expense of a slightly red-faced James, who simply scowled in retaliation.

The group paced three times in front of the tapestry, the same thought clear in their heads. When the door materialized, they dived for it, pushing the door open in a fervor. Their mouths fell open in awe.

The first thing they spotted was a merrily crackling fire, a bit of a standard in any room at Hogwarts. The floor to ceiling length mahogany bookcases lining the walls was what attracted their complete attention. The room now resembled their Common Room, if the Common Room also acted as a library solely dedicated to Fiendfyre.

They filed into the Room in a shocked silence.

"Well," Lily said, breaking their reveries. "We have some work to do here."

* * *

Lily's statement proved to be almost entirely true. Despite having a breadth of information now at their fingertips, it wasn't exactly easy work learning how to perform one of the most complicated and highly forbidden spells in the wizarding world.

They met every night of the following few weeks, reading until their eyes were too tired to read any longer. Even on the nights that James and Mariella had grueling Quidditch practices, they would still trek to the Room of Requirement, muddy, bedraggled, and sore, to help in the research process.

It wasn't until the second week in December that Hermione and Remus were the first of the group to feel confident enough to attempt to perform the spell, and even then they were still frightened of the repercussions that could follow if they were to cast it incorrectly. It took much prodding from the others, but finally, Hermione agreed to be the one to destroy the Horcrux.

Hermione had come up with the idea to destroy it in the secret passageway behind a mirror on the fourth floor. Although the others expressed fear at casting the spell in the castle, Hermione couldn't bear betraying Dumbledore's trust by leaving grounds to do it. _There would plenty of that later_, she noted.

Finally, on a cold, snowy night, the seven of them crept out of the Gryffindor Common Room, Calenna and Remus leading the way, eyes glued to the open Marauder's Map.

"_Lumos,_" the group muttered in unison, their wand tips lighting up their nervous faces. The corridor walls looked eerie as the wand light bounced off of it at different angles.

"Oh goodness, goodness, goodness," Lily said under her breath, eyes darting around apprehensively. James entwined his fingers with hers, attempting to comfort his nervous wreck of a girlfriend.

"It'll be fine, Lily bug," James whispered assuringly in her ear, although the quiver in his voice betrayed him.

Hermione remained silent, biting her lip. Sirius could feel the trembles wracking her body in intervals as he pulled her closer to him.

"Don't worry. You've done this before," Sirius said in her ear, his lip grazing it. Another shiver coursed through her, although this time it was for an entirely different reason.

"Not with fire, though," Hermione managed to say, her throat dry. She resumed her steadfast gnawing of her lower lip, drawing blood as she bit down too hard.

Sirius simply knelt his head closer to her ear and kissed the region between ear and cheek. "You'll be fine," he said, echoing James' words to Lily, his voice unwavering. She betrayed herself by inhaling sharply at the lip-to-skin contact.

Fate was on her side once again; they arrived at the Room of Requirement with little hassle, just as it was necessary for Hermione to respond to Sirius' comforting statement. This fact rattled Hermione even further, but she pushed aside her fear and whispered, "Think _I need the Room of Hidden Things_."

Nodding their understanding, the group paced back and forth until the door appeared. Hermione moved forward and pushed the door open quietly, wincing when it creaked, her heart hammering so loud that she was convinced the whole castle could hear it. They piled into the labyrinth of objects that students had hidden over the years: stacks upon stacks of books, dozens of broomsticks, cabinets, broken wands, and some of the oddest items Hermione had ever seen.

"Whoa," Sirius said, speaking the thoughts of the others in a single word.

"Where is it?" Remus asked, his voice echoing in the cathedral-like room.

Wordlessly, Hermione led the group along the path Harry had tread in his search for the Diadem. They were all uncharacteristically silent as they walked through the winding, makeshift aisles that the piles of items had made. Finally, they reached a table laden with broken or otherwise useless objects, characterized by the tiara-wearing bust on top of a wooden cupboard.

"Is that it?" breathed Lily, pointing at the head of the bust.

Hermione simply nodded, too fear-ridden to speak, as she reached up and pulled down the tiara.

"I thought it'd be more protected than that," commented Mariella.

"Not this one," Hermione said with grim satisfaction. The group came closer to Hermione to examine the first Horcrux. The sapphire encrusted crown was utterly beautiful and looked as innocent as a butterfly. The Ravenclaw motto, _wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure_, shined across the rim of the tiara. Hermione allowed them a few seconds to view it before she felt apprehension weighing down heavily on her chest.

"We should go," she said, wanting nothing but to get this whole night over with.

She led the way out of the room and hurriedly took them to the passageway behind the mirror, trusting Calenna and Remus to keep track of the map. Like before, they reached the mirror with minimal trouble. Hermione's trepidation grew exponentially, but her determination to carry out Phase 1 of their Horcrux journey began to override her mind.

"The password is 'Hodgepodge' according to the Map," Remus whispered.

"Hodgepodge," Hermione said, not allowing herself time to back out. The mirror swung open with an ominous creak. They stepped into a large, dark space, anticipation and tension and fear hanging in the air. They formed a circle and placed the Horcrux in the middle of it. Hermione quickly shot a Silencio charm at the now closed mirror.

"Ready?" Hermione asked, training her wand on the crown. They all nodded in answer, too afraid to speak. "Stand back," she said. They heeded her request readily, pressing their backs against the mossy wall. Sirius was the only one who remained next to her. He squeezed her hand briefly before stepping about six inches back to give her space.

"_Omnipotens ignis_!" she shouted. A lick of flame shot out of her wand tip, striking the Horcrux with a blast. Hermione distantly heard a scream, but it was faint as all of her attention laid on the Horcrux. It was lifted off of the stone ground and slammed with an almighty crack into the doorway, which trembled and caved in with a deafening lurching noise. Hermione did not let her concentration falter, all of her energies focused on maintaining that stream of flame so that it didn't form into a mass of fiery demons. The others moved as far as they could into the tunnel without losing sight of Hermione.

The Horcrux began emitting loud, painful hisses, screaming as if putting up a great, agonizing fight. It finally coiled in on itself, a twisted, charred, unrecognizable mass of goblin made steel and jewels. Hermione ended the spell by shouting, "_Sistunt ignis!_" The snake shot back into her wand with a final burst of smoke.

Silence hung in the air before Lily spoke. "Is it...dead?" she asked, the screaming of the Horcrux still ringing in their ears. They cautiously came forward, as if the Horcrux would revive itself and begin attacking them all.

"Yes," Hermione answered definitively, an odd sense calm drifting through her.

Sirius laughed, a great whooping laugh that set them all off into a fit of inexplicable, uncontrollable laughter. He picked Hermione up and spun her in the air. Calenna and Lily hugged, tears gathering in their eyes. Mariella attacked James and Remus with an unexpected hug, all three of them laughing the whole time.

The laughter subsided into weak giggles until it died completely, a sense of satisfaction within all of them. Until Remus brought something to their attention.

"Wait," he said, "how are going to get out of here? The mirror caved in."

"Oh," Hermione said, biting her lip. "I knew that was going to happen. In my time, the mirror was caved in, so I figured we should be the ones to do it. We can get out of here if we walk down the tunnel. It will lead us to Hogsmeade."

"But how are we supposed to get into the castle? The doors are locked," Lily said, her words lingering in the air as the others pondered her words.

"I guess we can sleep in here," Mariella said, giggling. The others erupted into laughter once more. Hermione, retaining her sensibility despite the euphoria tainting all of their thought processes, conjured seven poofy sleeping bags for them to sleep in. A content sleepiness overcoming them all, they tucked themselves into the sleeping bags and extinguished all but one wand.

Hermione closed her eyes, cuddling into the sleeping bag. She felt fingers entwined themselves with hers, scaring her as she bit back a scream.

"Don't shriek, it's me," Sirius said so quietly she barely heard him. She felt his face come peculiarly near hers. Her heart racing, she froze, but calmed down considerably when she felt his lips drift near her ear once more.

"I told you," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear.

"Told me what?" she asked, blood rushing to her cheeks. She hoped that his proximity wouldn't allow him to feel the heat that was surely radiating off her face.

"That you could do it." He retracted his face from its position near hers, but his fingers remained linked with hers.

"Night, 'Mione" were the last words she heard as she drifted off into a dreamless, content sleep.

**A/N: **Hope you all enjoyed! Please review :D


	16. Leaving the Tunnel

**A/N: **This chapter was originally much, much longer but then I deleted a ton of it and ahh the troubles of a writer. It was _way _to long and didn't have the atmosphere that I wanted. This chapter might not seem important, but it actually sets the stage for something that will happen next chapter (something that I told a reader would happen in this chapter but it didn't, but I _promise_ it will happen next one. The next one will be out late tonight or early tomorrow! Enjoy, and thanks to all my readers!

* * *

**Chapter 16 – Leaving the Tunnel**

Hermione awoke in the early hours of the morning to the keen sound of water dripping from the ceiling. She opened her eyes slowly and was surprised to see nothing but darkness surrounding her. Blinking, she allowed the events of the previous hours to flood her brain. Memories came back to her in flashes: the Horcrux sailing across the Room of Hidden Things, the blood-curdling noise it had emitted when the Fiendfyre demolished it, and the caved in mirror, which had led to the seven of them being forced to sleep in the tunnel.

Finally comprehending where she was, Hermione crawled out of her warm sleeping bag, shivering slightly from the chill of the damp, mossy room, being careful not to step on any of her slumbering friends.

Plucking her wand from the depths of her robes, she held it aloft and slashed it through the air. The time, 5:15 a.m., flashed in the air in fiery red lettering before fading away in a wisp of smoke.

"_Lumos_," she muttered. The light from her wand lit up the whole room, allowing her to clearly see her friends huddled in their sleeping bags, the strongly glowing light doing nothing to rouse them from their deep sleeps.

Before waking the others up, Hermione's thoughts drifted to the burned remains of the Diadem. Should she leave it in tunnel, where no one would ever be able to access it again? Or should she keep it in her possession as a memento for this giant milestone in the Horcrux hunt?

Winding her way through the haphazardly placed sleeping bags, she finally reached the Horcrux. She could barely discern its true form through the crumbling ash and twisted metal. Delicately, Hermione picked the horrid magical object off of the ground, small particles of ash raining down on the floor. It was now a ball of blackened metal, a few sapphire jewels still visible in the charred mass. Frowning, Hermione placed the tiara back on the ground, where she knew it would stay undisturbed until the end of time.

Sighing, Hermione knelt by Lily's place on the stone floor, taking care not to step on the flowing auburn hair spilling onto the ground.

"Wake up, Lil. We need to sneak back into the castle," crooned Hermione. Lily's eyes blinked open almost instantly.

"Wha- where are we again?" she asked blearily, her voice slightly hoarse.

"We're in that mirror passageway where we destroyed the Horcrux. The mirror caved in, so we have to go through Hogsmeade and enter the castle through the front doors – surreptitiously, of course," whispered Hermione.

Lily bolted upright, just barely missing Hermione's head.

"Watch out, you almost head butted me!" Hermione whispered feverishly.

"Sorry!" replied Lily, worry apparent in her voice. "I just don't want Filch to catch us! We'd be flayed! What time is it?" she rushed out.

"It was 5:15 when I last checked. We have time," Hermione said assuringly. Lily extracted herself from the sleeping bag and promptly rolled it up swiftly with her wand.

"Help me wake up the others," muttered Hermione.

Her ability to think no longer obscured by grogginess, Lily began nudging Calenna and Mariella awake, leaving Hermione the difficult task of shaking the boys out of their slumbers.

Kicking, slapping, and punching did nothing to wake them. If Hermione didn't know any better, she would have assumed that someone had slipped the boys goblets of the Draught of Living Death in the middle of the night, claiming that the clear potion was only water. She even tried jumping on Sirius' back before sighing angrily and whipping her wand out with a crazed look in her eyes.

"Easy there, cowgirl," Calenna said, deftly snatching the wand from Hermione's hand.

"Why aren't they waking the bloody hell up?" said Hermione, her voice bordering on a shriek.

"They're boys. Most boys sleep like logs," offered Mariella as she attempted to unknot her tangled blonde hair with her wand. Hermione could only imagine how _she _looked at the moment. Her hair enjoyed taking on a life of its own during the night, resulting in the frazzled frizziness she had to force a brush through.

"I think I know how to wake James up," muttered Lily, her cheeks turning a crimson red.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" said Hermione, gesturing enthusiastically at James' sleeping form.

Still blushing uncontrollably, Lily lent down to James' head and presumably whispered something in his ear, for his eyes shot open almost instantly. Lily quickly straightened up and backed into a corner of the room, leaving a confused, but awake, James.

"Where'd Lily go?" he asked, one hand rubbing feverishly at his eyes, the other groping the ground for his wand.

"She's hiding in a corner," Calenna said casually. "Not sure why. But, now that you're up, can you do us a favor and wake up your stooges? We need to get the hell out of here like _now_."

"Okay, okay," muttered James, finally finding his wand. Without getting out of his sleeping bag, he mindlessly waved his wand in a complicated manner. With a rapid zipping noise, the sleeping bags in which Sirius and Remus were wrapped in were pulled off of their bodies, leaving the two of them wriggling on the cold floor.

"Ugh, James, what you do that f- for?" yawned Remus, his eyes opening fraction by fraction.

"Why are you so mean?" whined Sirius, rubbing his head where it had connected rather painfully with the ground.

"You gits weren't waking up and we need to get out of here," replied James. Ignoring their further complaints, James sleepily stumbled out of his sleeping bag and to the corner where Lily was hiding.

"What do you think she said to him?" Hermione curiously asked the other girls.

They both shrugged. "Probably something dirty," Mariella said, finally succeeding in ridding her hair of all tangles.

Remus spluttered from his place on the floor. "What did we miss?" he asked, mouth agape.

"You don't deserve to know seeing as you two dipshits took positively forever to wake up!" joked Calenna. Extending a hand, she pulled Remus up from the floor.

"Morning, beautiful," she said, grinning, leaning up to kiss him.

"MY EYES! MY VIRGIN EYES!" yelled Sirius, shielding his eyes dramatically.

"You're just jealous," Calenna scoffed as she pulled away from Remus' face, a scowl on her lips.

"Remus is quite the looker, but I'd rather not kiss him. Thanks though," said Sirius, finally getting up from the floor, Vanishing the remaining sleeping bags with a simple flick of his wand.

"You know what I mean," she responded with a challenging tone, her eyes narrowed. Curiosity was piqued within Hermione, her thoughts muddled as she filed through them in a speedy attempt to decode the vague conversation.

Sirius was saved from responding when James and Lily finally emerged from the darkened corner.

"Are you all ready to go?" Lily asked, her blush finally toned down.

"Yeah," Hermione said absently, her thoughts distracted by Sirius and Calenna's tense exchange.

Giving James a significant look, Lily drifted to where Mariella and Hermione were standing and let James and the boys lead the way forward.

Once they had distanced themselves from the quietly chattering boys, Mariella finally broke the silence. "So Lily, wanna tell us what you said to James that woke him up so quickly?" she asked, smirking slightly.

Lily's blush returned. "It was n- nothing," she stammered.

Calenna gave her a knowing look. "It definitely involved something too racy for our ears, am I right?" she cocked an eyebrow mischievously.

"No!" Lily exclaimed, her ears glowing pink beneath her hair. "I just said 'Come on, James. I'm waiting for you to make out with me. You don't want to keep me waiting, do you?'. Although it _was _in a much more...sensual voice than that. Happy?" she said defiantly, although her fierce tone was diluted by the fact that her face was burning with embarrassment.

Calenna and Mariella burst into a fit of laughter, Calenna's face turning red from her uncontrollable giggles.

"Shut up," Lily muttered.

"That's your idea of 'sensual'?" Mariella choked out.

Hermione barely heard any of this exchange, unable to stop thinking about what Calenna had said. What was Sirius hiding? Finally getting tired of mulling over the conversation with little success, Hermione decided to confront Calenna.

"What were you and Sirius talking about back there?" she asked abruptly, making eye contact with Calenna. The giggling girl immediately averted her eyes, Hermione's question sobering her almost instantly.

Calenna stared at Hermione pensively before deciding how to answer her. "I'm sorry, Hermione, I really wish I could tell you, but I can't. That's Sirius' responsibility." She offered Hermione a rueful smile. "Talk to him," she urged.

Although impatience and agitation rose within her, Hermione kept her mouth shut and nodded in faux understanding. Calenna smiled apologetically, willing Hermione to not be upset with her.

"The exit is up here!" Sirius shouted back at the girls, causing them to speed up their walking.

"Where?" Calenna asked, gazing around the end of the dank tunnel. "There's no door or anything."

Remus had opened the map once more and was examining it carefully. "The map says that there is a trapdoor above us. It can be opened by saying _bamboozled_." As soon as Remus uttered the password, a square of early morning light formed in the low ceiling, a thin roped ladder tumbling out of it. Thin white clouds and gray sky were visible from their positions in the tunnel.

"After you," Remus said, grinning at Calenna. She playfully rolled her eyes in response before gracefully latching onto the swinging ladder, beginning her ascent upwards. Remus stood beneath his girlfriend, prepared to catch her if she fell. As soon as she disappeared through the square, he quickly scrambled up the ladder.

Mariella swiftly climbed up the ladder next, jokingly saying "None of you need to protect me from falling", although Sirius stood beneath her anyway, a cheeky smirk across his handsome face. James did the same for Lily, whose face was still a faint pink after confessing to the girls what she had told her boyfriend. With a fleeting grin aimed at Sirius and Hermione, James quickly followed Lily, leaving Hermione and Sirius alone.

"After you, love." Sirius winked, pointing to the swinging ladder with a flourish. Forcing a smile on her face, Hermione hooked her hands and feet onto the ladder.

"You don't need to be ready to catch me. I'm more than capable of climbing a ladder myself," she said stubbornly.

Sirius raised an eyebrow in amusement, looking up at her. "Why so snappy?"

"I'm not being snappy!" she said briskly, before blushing and adjusting her tone. "I'm just used to doing things on my own." Hermione began her shaky ascent, her mind straying from the task at hand. The same conversation kept replaying itself in her mind, driving her insane with an odd curiosity that she couldn't push aside. She barely noticed her foot slipping off the ladder until she felt her body falling as the weight of her lower half caused her hand's limp grip on the rung to give out.

She braced herself for the harsh landing on the stone floor and the humiliation that would come after falling front of Sirius before a pair of strong arms caught her, holding her across his body as if she were a small child.

She felt the rumbling of Sirius' chest as he laughed. "Looks like you needed me to catch you," he said smugly, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

"Shut up," Hermione snapped weakly, a disgruntled look on her face. Sirius just laughed even harder.

"Don't worry. We'll just pretend this never happened," he assured, a grin still on his face.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Just put me down, will you?"

Sirius' face turned thoughtful before he said, "No, I'd rather not." Before Hermione could angrily retort, Sirius had swung her body around to his back as if she were a lightweight rag doll and began climbing the ladder.

"What are you doing?" shrieked Hermione, fastening her legs around his waist and her arms around her neck.

"Getting us both out of that tunnel. Look how fast that was!" he said brightly as their heads poked through the trapdoor. The tunnel had ended in the outskirts of Hogsmeade. As Sirius hefted the both of them out of the hole, Hermione caught a glimpse of the picturesque town, the shops and homes resembling iced gingerbread houses.

"Took you two long enough! I thought the ladder had given out," said James, his arms wrapped around a shivering Lily.

"Hermione here was being quite the hassle. Had to carry her out of there myself," answered Sirius, his cheeky smirk back in place.

"Oh, shut it," she mumbled, beginning to lead the group towards Hogsmeade. The cold was only then starting to affect her as she wrapped her thin robes closer to her shivering body, fruitlessly trying to absorb any warmth they offered.

"Such witty comebacks today," observed Sirius.

"Can we make this a speedy journey, please? I can't feel my boobs," Calenna shouted over the whistling wind.

Remus' face grew red, as if the thought of those parts of Calenna was too much for him to handle. The others burst out laughing, Sirius clutching his stomach in apparent pain.

"Why don't you ask Moony to warm them for you?" Sirius asked, finally recovering.

"Not with you all around!" Calenna chided jokingly. Remus' face bypassed red and turned burgundy.

"How about we focus on getting to the castle without Filch catching us?" cried Remus.

Lily automatically stopped laughing. "Someone get the map out!"

Remus pulled the parchment map from his pants pocket, folded it open, and tapped it with a mutter. The exact words of his mumble were not heard over the howling wind, although Hermione knew he had said _I solemnly swear I'm up to no good_.

"Filch is in his office, McGonagall is in the Astronomy Tower, and the Prefects are all asleep in their respective dormitories," Remus called.

They had finally reached the little village. Walking was an easier feat to accomplish in the already trodden-on snow, packed together tightly after being stepped on by hordes of people the day before. The store windows were dark, the displays unidentifiable masses.

Lily peered apprehensively into the Three Broomsticks from their spot on the road. "You don't think anyone is in there do you? The sign says it opens at five."

"Don't worry, Rosmerta is probably the only one in there," James answered soothingly, rubbing Lily's back.

They trudged the rest of the way in silence, the biting cold numbing their feet, legs, arms, ears, and faces. Putting each foot in front of the other was proving to be an extremely difficult task, their feet became more and more emerged in snow as they began the slippery ascent towards the gilded Hogwarts gates.

After steadily climbing for ten minutes, they finally reached the metal gates. With a push, Hermione and Sirius opened the slightly creaky gate, breathing a collective sigh of relief that they were unlocked.

Mariella let out a frustrated sigh, stomping her foot like tantrum-prone child. "Now we have this _entire _stretch of land to climb. Isn't there an easier way?"

James was the only one who considered her question, his hazel eyes narrowed in thought. The rest of them had already began trekking the grounds of Hogwarts, determined in their battle against the violently swirling snow.

James' face lit up. "I got it!" he exclaimed.

"Got what?" Hermione called over the deafening wind.

"How to get to the castle faster! How to get to our _dormitories_ easier!" James shouted excitedly.

"Well? Want to tell us how, Prongs?" asked Sirius.

As his answer, James extracted his wand from his back pocket. Holding his wand up in the air, Hermine heard him faintly as he shouted "_Accio Broomsticks!_"

Hermione couldn't help but grin broadly, a giggle escaping her lips. Never had James resembled Harry as much as he did at that point, his hair sticking up in all directions, a genuine smile lighting up his face.

"Yes! No more walking!" yelled Mariella triumphantly, almost knocking James and Lily over in an exuberant hug.

"Good thinking, Prongs," said Remus, nodding proudly.

Over the wind, Hermione could hear the distant whizzing of broomsticks hurtling through the foggy air, growing louder and louder with each passing second.

"Ah, here they come," commented James, a light smile still adorning his face. The broomsticks slowed considerably as they neared them, blown slightly off course because of the harsh breeze. They finally slowed and stopped at waist level.

"There's only four of them," Remus noted. "I guess we'll have to double up."

Nodding, James grabbed the broom in the best condition, an old Shooting Star. Swinging a leg over the slightly bent broom, he motioned for Lily to climb on behind. She did so reluctantly, looking apprehensive about leaving the ground.

"What if someone looks out of one of windows?" she asked, her eyes darting worriedly from the group to the castle.

"We'll be fine. Everyone is still sleeping," said James, bringing Lily's arms around his waist with his own hands. "It'll go swimmingly," he claimed with a grin. Weakly returning his smile, Lily tightened her hold of his waist, screwing her eyes shut in preparation.

Calenna had also grabbed one of the brooms and had jumped on. Remus gave her a dubious look. "Shouldn't I be the person in the front?"

Calenna shook her head. "I'm the better flyer out of the two of us, and I'm not really in the mood for a head-on collision with the side of the castle, so get on."

Remus looked affronted, but relented anyway. Hermione swatted Sirius over the head as she saw the beginnings of a laugh bubble out of his mouth.

A feeling of fear and nervousness began to grip Hermione. She had never been great at flying; just the sensation of her feet leaving the beautifully safe ground was enough to make her retch. She would gladly take a detention from Filch than soar the incredibly high distance to the Gryffindor tower.

"Hermione?" Sirius' voice snapped her from her thoughts.

"What?" she asked.

"Are you going to ride with me?" The rest of the group was waiting for her to get on with Sirius. Mariella was sitting on her broom sidesaddle, impatiently tapping her fingers against its tail end.

Summoning all her Gryffindor courage, Hermione trudged the short distance between herself and the broom and swung her leg over it, tentatively placing her hands on Sirius' waist. She felt an odd jolt go through his body, but didn't question it, her fear overriding her curiosity.

_You can do this, _she thought bracingly. _You've ridden Buckbeak and a thestral. And a dragon for Heaven's Sake! _

"Hold on tight, love," murmured Sirius. Hermione barely had a chance to gather her bearings before they were sailing in the air, the wind whistling in her ears, her robes fanning out behind her.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God," she muttered in quick succession, burying her head in Sirius' neck. She felt him lean forward, giving the broom another burst of speed.

"Not too fast!" she shrieked.

She felt his body shake as he laughed. "I would never drop you."

Hermione felt tingles erupt in her stomach but couldn't give them much thought as he shot up higher. "_Sirius!_" she yelled shrilly.

Allowing herself to lift her head from his neck, Hermiones eyes sought out the Gryffindor tower. She felt a burst of relief course through her as she caught sight of it.

"See Lily, we're safe!" James said, his face red from the cold. They were hovering just out the window to the boys' dormitory.

"Don't say my name too loud!" she hissed through clenched teeth. "What if a professor was opening her window for a nice breeze and heard that instead?"

"Calm down, Lil," said Sirius. She sent a death glare at Sirius, her face stark white.

"How are we supposed to get in now?" asked Calenna, changing the subject.

In response, Mariella neared the window on her broom and pulled her wand from her robes. Aiming it at the window, she said "_Evanesco!_" The window Vanished, leaving a gaping square where it once was. Without waiting for an answer, she flew into the room and down the stairs through the open dormitory door.

"That was...odd?" said Remus, his eyebrows furrowed. Calenna just shrugged and flew the pair of them into the dormitory, careful not to bang her broom against the window sill. Lily and James followed.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Sirius asked the silent Hermione.

"Just get me in the bloody dormitory for Merlin's sake!" she snapped. Grinning, he directed the broom into the room swiftly and quietly so as not to wake the still slumbering Wormtail. Hermione dismounted the broom shakily, holding back the urge to kiss the ground.

"Where did James and Lily go?" Sirius asked Remus, who was removing his snow covered robes. Calenna was sprawled out on his bed, her soggy robes piled on the floor.

"They went to the Head's Tower," replied Remus.

Sirius then turned his attention to Hermione, who had distracted herself by conjuring up the window Mariella had successfully Vanished.

"Are you okay, love?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Just glad to be back on solid ground," she responded wryly. "I think I should head to my dormitory before you ask me to swim in the Black Lake or do some other psychotic activity. Good night." She walked over to the still open door, leaving a trail of slush behind her.

"I think you mean 'good morning'," he said, grinning.

She turned to face him. Rolling her eyes playfully, she cracked a small smile. "Good morning then, Sirius."

"Good morning, Hermione."

**A/N: **I used this chapter as a grounds for fleshing my characters out a bit more, so it may seem like a filler, but really it isn't! Like I said, it lays the foundation for something else... The next chapter will be much more eventful I can say that much lol. Thanks for reading! Please review! :D


	17. The Start of Something New

**A/N: **I know it's super late but I really wanted to get the chapter out today! This might be my favorite chapter so far, so I hope you all enjoy it! I think you all wanted a particular thing to finally happen, and it happens in this chapter! Enjoy, and thank you so much to all of my readers and reviewers!

**Chapter 17 – The Start of Something New**

Hermione refused to become complacent after the destruction of the first Horcrux. The others were perfectly content; they felt one step closer to being the people to ultimately end Voldemort's reign, Christmas was soon approaching, and there had not been any news concerning deaths or disappearances.

Hermione, on the other hand, had never been under this much strain in her life. The lack of violence and action on Voldemort's part was daunting to her. She had a creeping, unshakeable feeling that he was planning something enormous that no one, not even her, could have foreseen. Dumbledore's failure to ask her for more assistance had also contributed to the anxiety that Hermione had become accustomed to. She knew he was taking her situation seriously, but his unwillingness to act in a significant way nettled and distressed her like no other.

The others didn't understand her feelings of distress and vexation. Lily and Remus were constantly stressing the importance of school and how Hermione should focus on that instead of entertaining such consuming anxiety. James, Mariella, and Calenna were always attempting to get her to relax, which often included pushing studies aside and focusing on trivial activities such as Wizard's Chess, Exploding Snap, or pulling mindless pranks. That often caused the outbreak of an argument between Lily and James, leaving Hermione as anxious as she was before.

Sirius was the only person who seemed to understand Hermione's odd emotions. He did try his hardest to de-stress her, but he also listened as she poured out her troubles to him, never questioning them. They often found themselves alone in the Common Room as they talked, did homework, or just enjoyed each other's company late into the night. Sirius had became what Harry had been for her; a constant source of comfort and friendship.

However, there was something that Hermione felt towards Sirius that she had not felt for Harry: an inexplicable, uncontrollable longing that extended _way_ beyond the boundaries of friendship.

Every little touch drove Hermione insane. An innocent brush of his hand, the tucking of a piece of hair behind her ear, the smiles he reserved only for her. She knew that Sirius had wanted to go out on a date with her earlier in the school year, but she assumed that he had lost interest in that aspect of their relationship. From what she had learned about Sirius while he acted as Harry's godfather, he had been quite assertive when it came to charming witches during his Hogwarts days. He wouldn't have given up so easy if he_ really_ liked her.

Hermione still hadn't plucked up the courage to ask Sirius exactly what his curt conversation with Calenna had been about. She was just as curious as she was when she first witnessed it a week ago, but she didn't want to pry.

All of this combined with the desire to be back with Harry and Ron for the holidays was enough to ensure that Hermione was not a very joyous person.

Exactly a week after the Horcrux had been destroyed, while sitting with Sirius and Lily in the bustling Common Room, she found herself drifting into a memory about Christmas during her fifth year. Mr. Weasley had been ravaged by the snake and Harry thought he was responsible, yet Sirius had made every attempt to make Christmas as cheerful as possible. A wistful smile wound its way onto her face as she remembered Sirius' joy as he bellowed Christmas tunes at the top of his lungs, hanging holly and garland around the house he detested so much. She felt Sirius casually loop an arm her shoulders, snapping her out of her reverie.

"Earth to Hermione," he said in her ear so she could hear him over the boisterous students. She felt a jolt course through her body as his breath hit her ear. "What are you thinking about?"

"Harry and Ron," she answered a bit morosely, snuggling into Sirius' warm embrace. Lily's head quirked up momentarily at the mention of Harry before surreptitiously ducking back down, her fiery mane covering her face as she covertly eavesdropped on their conversation.

"That's to be expected, love. This is your first Christmas without them," he said consolingly, his hand finding hers. His thumb rubbed circles on her hand in a comforting gesture, Hermione's stomach fluttering like a swarm of excited butterflies.

"The first of many Christmases without them," she muttered, eyes downcast.

"Not for too long, I reckon! He'll be born in 1980, right?"

"Hermione, can you lend me a hand with this Transfiguration essay? I feel like it's missing something crucial and I can't figure it out!" Lily innocently interrupted, her eyes flashing significantly at Hermione. She shifted awkwardly in her seat.

"I thought you had finished that last weekend," mused Hermione. It was obvious to her that Lily had been listening in on their exchange and had become uncomfortable with the topic.

"Last weekend?" interrupted Sirius, his gray eyes wide. "I haven't even started it! When is it due?"

Hermione laughed, shaking her head. "It's due tomorrow, Sirius," she chided with a giggle.

"_What?_ Tomorrow?" he cried before throwing himself down at Hermione's feet. "Please help me too, Hermione!" he begged, kissing the bottom of her robes for good measure, gaining the attention of a giggly group of second years.

"Fine. Let me go to the library to get this one really helpful Transfiguration book and I'll help you both," she relented, heaving a dramatic sigh as she got from the couch. "What would you do without me?" she asked with a playful smirk.

"Fail every class, that's what I would do," Sirius said, brushing off his robes as he stood up. "I'll go with you."

Smiling gratefully, she nodded and led the two of them from the packed Common Room, avoiding an exuberant gaggle of third years playing a violent game of Exploding Snap. They finally made it through the portrait door and into the silent corridor.

"We have time before curfew, right? I haven't gotten a detention this year and don't plan on starting now," Hermione asked, her shoes click clacking on the cobblestone as she purposefully led them through a shortcut.

"We have thirty minutes. Hey look, you can see the Quidditch pitch perfectly from here!" Sirius exclaimed, dragging Hermione over to a nearby window. Peering out of the glass panes, Hermione could see the miniscule forms of the Gryffindor Quidditch team tossing around a tiny ball that Hermione knew to be the Quaffle.

"That's fascinating and all, but we only have thirty minutes..."

"Fine, let's go!" Sirius said, dragging Hermione in the direction of the library once more.

"By the way, I kind of need my arm so can you stop trying to remove it from its socket?" she asked, laughing.

"Sorry," he said, smiling sheepishly, loosening his hold on her hand. They walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence, Hermione enjoying the sensation that simply holding hands with Sirius invoked in her. Upon reaching the library, they bumped into Remus, Calenna, and Peter.

"Hey, mates. Headed to the library?" Remus asked, his arm linked with Calenna's.

"Yeah. I have to help this dolt start his Transfiguration essay," Hermione said, pointing at Sirius.

"Hey! I'm not a dolt!"

The others acted as if he hadn't even spoken. "Peter needed our help, so Remus and I teamed together to help him," said Calenna, a forced smile on her face. Sirius' eyes flickered, but he didn't look at Peter.

"We just needed to get a book, so I expect we'll see you in the Common Room in a few minutes," said Hermione, her grip on Sirius' hand tightening.

"Yeah, see you there!" said Calenna, pulling Remus and Peter before they could get a word in.

Choosing not to comment on Peter's former presence, Hermione pulled Sirius into the silent library, a sense of calm in her chest. She didn't care what anyone said; the library was her sanctuary. Nothing could hurt her there, and Sirius being with her intensified the placidity she felt.

Meandering over to the Transfiguration aisle, Hermione ran her fingers over the dusty volumes, scanning the spines of each book in search of the one she needed. Sirius stood quietly by her side, watching her concentrated search with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Aha!" she finally said, reaching for the book on her tip toes, her fingers only brushing the bottom of it. Smiling slightly, Sirius simply lifted his arm and retrieved the heavy leather-bound textbook.

She accepted the book with a playful smirk. "I hate that you're so much taller than me!" she said, her lightly freckled nose scrunched up.

"Six feet isn't too tall for a guy," he said, snatching the book from her arms.

"Well, I'm practically a dwarf compared to you." She began heading to the wooden library doors, feeling Madam Pince's stare as they passed the wizen witch. Sending her a polite smile, Hermione pushed the doors open with her back.

"It's not curfew yet, is it?" Hermione asked for the second time that hour as they walked along the corridor.

"Not yet, 'Mione," he answered with an amused grin, shifting the book in arms.

"Well, well, well. It's the Mudblood and the blood traitor." Sirius' careful smile slid clean off his face, the book slipping from his arms as he turned to face his aggressor. Hermione winced as the book hit the floor with a echoing _slap. _

A menacing group of Slytherins loomed over the pair of them, wands twirling nonchalantly in their hands. Hermione's heart thudded painfully as she spotted Regulus Black lurking behind the Slytherins, a bored look on his face. However, Hermione could see the regret in his eyes; he clearly did not want to be apart of their acts of pure cruelty. Thankfully, Bellatrix wasn't among the troublemakers.

Sirius had drew his wand from his pocket almost imperceptibly, visibly ready to duel if he had to. "Call her that one more time. I _dare _you," he said in a deadly whisper. The only time Hermione had ever been frightened of Sirius was when she believed him to be a murderer. However, she felt an involuntary quiver of fear that trickled down her spine all because of his tone. The anger wasn't directed at her, it was _for _her, yet she felt nervous.

"Sirius, it's okay, just leave it," she muttered feverishly, pulling his wand arm down. At the sign of hesitation, the leader of the group shot a spell directed at Hermione's face. The jet of orange light grazed her face, leaving a long, thin cut on her cheek. She felt herself being pushed onto the floor by Sirius as her hand sprang to the cut, crimson blood staining her fingers. With a bang from his wand, Sirius had the aggressive Slytherin on the floor clutching his now bloody nose. Various spells were being hurled at Sirius, but he combated them with an even greater amount of ferocity, his steely eyes flashing.

Hermione could feel the anger radiating off of Sirius in magical waves and sensed that he would seriously injure any Slytherin in the vicinity, even his brother. However, all of them were forced to stop fighting as Professor McGonagall rounded the corner in a flurry, the sounds of the fight reaching her nearby office.

"What is this?" she shrieked, her lips thinner than Hermione had ever seen them. "Is this the way seventh years act? Fighting in the corridors?"

Hermione lifted herself off the floor, grabbing the forgotten book, eyeing the damage that had been done. Two of the Slytherins clearly had broken wrists, another seemed to have sprouted purple warts across his eyelids, and the leader was still nursing a broken nose. Regulus, however, seemed unhurt. His bored look had been replaced with one of determination, something Hermione did not comprehend. Sirius had been hit primarily in the face, although his arm was bent oddly. The skin around his eye was purpling and his lip had been cut pretty badly. Hermione felt a pang of anger and sympathy for Sirius. She hated for him to be hurt, especially since he had attained his injuries in defense of her.

"They called her a Mudblood and then cut her cheek with a spell when she was _clearly_ not going to attack them. If anyone deserves detention, it's them for instigating a fight and me for fighting back," Sirius spat out, his jaw set.

McGonagall looked at him appraisingly, her eyes softening. "Follow me to my office, Mulciber, Lestrange, Avery, Nott, Black." It was then that Sirius had noticed the presence of his brother. Hermione could feel him tense up beside her, his nostrils flaring as he made eye contact with Regulus.

Nott, who Hermione now identified as the broken-nosed leader, sneered at them as McGonagall led them past her and Sirius. _It's not over yet, _he mouthed. She heard Sirius' breathing grow heavier as he struggled to maintain his anger. He just began pulling her away from the soon-to-be punished Slytherins when Regulus was level with them. A smirk on his face, he sharply bumped into Hermione's shoulder, feeling her flinch as his hand grazed her hip. Sirius swiftly dragged her towards his body, shielding her from Regulus, the book acting as an awkward barrier.

"If you ever touch her again, I swear I will make your life _hell_, Regulus," hissed Sirius.

"Sirius, let's just go," Hermione demanded in a strong voice. With one last glare at his brother, Sirius allowed Hermione to drag him from the scene of the fight.

* * *

Sirius winced in pain. "That bloody hurt!" he exclaimed, flexing his now mended arm.

"Sorry," Hermione frowned, getting up from the plush couch the Room of Requirement had conjured up for them. Both of them agreed that the Gryffindor Common Room was not a place either of them wanted to be; the privacy of the Room of Requirement was much needed for the two of them. Sirius' uncompleted Transfiguration essay had become the least of their worries, although Hermione felt bad in her failure to help Lily.

"Let me at your face now," Hermione demanded, tilting his head back to get a better look at it. "I'm going to fix your lip. It's going to sting a bit," she warned. He screwed his eyes shut in preparation, only to wince again as his face movement irritated his darkening purple eye.

Eyebrows furrowed in concentration, Hermione gently ran the tip of her wand over Sirius' cut lip, forcing herself to ignore his gasp of pain as the injury began to stitch itself. She repeated the process until the cut had faded to a faint pinkish line.

"That's all done," she muttered.

"Let me fix your cut now!" Sirius pleaded, reaching for Hermione's wand. She snatched it out of his reach.

"No," she refused stubbornly. "Let me fix you first. You suffered the beating for me. Don't do that again!" she reprimanded, although her heart wasn't fully in it. Walking over to the first-aid table that she hadn't seen before, she plucked a vial of Essence of Dittany from it.

"This will also sting a bit," she said, her knees between Sirius' legs as she bent towards his face. Her heart rate increased as she realized the intimacy of the situation, but she forcefully pushed that thought away. She carefully brushed his fringe of wavy hair from his forehead, her fingers lightly ghosting the edge of the bruise. She felt him shiver, but didn't comment on it, her focus on healing his injury. Popping the bottle open, she applied the Dittany to his eye gently, making sure not to press her hand too hard on it. He remained silent the whole time, suppressing any sound of pain.

"Done," she murmured, pulling away from Sirius to put the Dittany back on the table.

"Now it's your turn," he said, getting up from the couch.

"Fine," she groaned reluctantly, allowing him to drag her back to the sofa. He kneeled in front of her, grabbing his wand from the sofa. "I'm definitely not as good at this as you are," he warned.

"Just give it your best."

Biting his lip in concentration, he lightly traced the thin cut with his wand, his eyes flashing with worry when she gasped lightly. "I'm sorry," he breathed out.

"It's not your fault the spell hurts," she said, her mouth quirking into a half-smile.

"All fixed," he said. As Hermione moved her head down, the firelight lit up her face, throwing the small scars littering her skin into relief. The scar that stood out to him the most was the one lining her neck. It was thin and whiter than the rest of her cream colored skin, just as it had looked when he spotted it on her when she was still unconscious after her unplanned arrival.

"'Mione, how'd you get that scar on your neck?" he asked, moving onto the cushion next to her. Her eyes flashed in what Sirius assumed to be fear. "Please don't lie about."

He was surprised to see her expressive eyes become watery and sad, her hands shaking slightly. "It's fitting that you ask about that today," she said lowly, bitterly laughing. "I actually got this scar because I'm a Mudblood."

Sirius' eyes darkened. "Who did this?" he asked, his tone dangerous. "And don't call yourself that," he said in a softer voice.

"I can't say, you know that. You'd surely murder them." She shook her head, willing him with her eyes not to be angry. He immediately softened, although he felt annoyed at how easily he relented.

"Then just tell me the story without names," he said, his voice a semblance of his normal one.

"Okay," she agreed. "During Voldemort's reign in my time, Muggleborns were wanted. They were actually put on trial in order for them to prove they were magical. Obviously most of them couldn't prove that they had some kind of Magical ancestry, so they were sent to Azkaban." She licked her lips before continuing. "Snatchers were groups of people who worked to capture Muggleborns 'on the run'. They caught Harry, Ron, and I and took us to where a group of Death Eaters were staying." She paused here, the remembrance of that night becoming almost too much to bear. The fear, the pain, the tortured sound of Ron's voice as he yelled her name...they made the memory sharper than she wanted it to be.

She vaguely felt Sirius' arms around her. His embrace placed her in a cocoon of his smell: soap, copper scented blood, cinnamon, and the sharp smelling Dittany. "You don't have to finish the story." His voice sounded tight.

Pulling away, she shook her head. "No, I need to." Taking a deep breath, she continued the story as if she had never stopped. "The Death Eaters wanted information from us. We had stolen something that they believed to be theirs. They took Harry and Ron and locked them in a cellar, but they kept me, hoping that with enough _'Crucio'_s I would be willing to talk."

"Did they do that?" Sirius interrupted, his face pale. Hermione nodded, shivering as she recalled the indescribable pain. His lips trembled in anger.

"It was terrible. I felt like they had set me on fire and I was slowly dying. After the third one, I _wanted _to die." She heard a sudden intake of breath from Sirius, but continued. "Harry and Ron managed to escape the cellar and get us out of there, but not before the Death Eaters had threatened to kill me, holding a dagger to my throat. Obviously the Death Eater got a little excited, which is how I got this scar," she finished, biting her lip.

She jumped in surprise as Sirius grabbed both of her hands and brought them to his mouth. She could feel his lips move against them as he spoke, his blue flecked gray orbs staring unblinkingly into her shining brown ones. "Nothing like that will ever happen to you _again. _Not when I'm around." He dropped her hands and reclined on the sofa, having a staring match with the ceiling. Hermione mirrored his position, her thoughts shooting through her head much too quickly to keep up with.

Finally, she broke the silence. "Sirius...I've been wanting to ask you something for a bit now."

"You can ask me anything you want, Hermione." Just the sound of her name on his lips was enough to get her heart racing, but she focused all of her attention to the matter at hand.

"Do you remember what Calenna said to you in the tunnel last week?" At her question, he shot up in his seat and looked at her, his eyes alive with an emotion she couldn't identify.

"Yes," he answered calmly. "What about it?"

"I just couldn't help but wonder...well, what were you two talking about exactly?" Hermione gulped, hoping that she wasn't coming off as nosey. She sat up, wringing her hands in her lap.

"Haven't you noticed anything about me this year?" he asked, brushing his bangs aside impatiently.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"I'm dumb, you didn't know me until this year," he said, shaking his head as he stood up. He began pacing the room, showing a nervousness that Hermione didn't know he could have. "By this time in the year, during any other year, I would have already had at least five girlfriends. If I found a girl attractive, I would have gone after her until I got her, then dump her after the thrill of the chase was gone. But not this year. Because this year, _you _arrived." Hermione's heart went wild. _What was he talking about?_

"You. Hermione Granger. You literally arrived out of nowhere, broken and despondent and so, so mysterious. I knew nothing about this beautiful, sad girl. And I wanted to help you. I never once had the desire to date you just to leave you a week later. I enjoyed spending time with you as a _friend_. It was the first time I ever considered a girl a friend, not someone to make out with whenever I so pleased. I never wanted to be more because I thought you didn't _want_ to be more. But I don't want to do that anymore." He stopped in his pacing and walked over to Hermione, shock paralyzing her on the sofa. He sat down next to her and took her soft, smaller hand in his calloused, bigger one.

"Calenna said I was jealous of the relationship between her and Remus. And she was right. I am jealous. Because she is with the person she likes while you and I continue to just be friends. I can't stand it anymore. You drive me mad in all the best ways and I want...I _need _us to be more," he said, his hand caressing hers. "Please say something," he pleaded when Hermione just stared at him wordlessly.

"I can do better than that," she breathed out. Wounding a hand in his raven hair, Hermione kissed him, her lips moving against his with a passion she didn't know she had. All of their pent-up emotions came rushing out in one kiss; she could _feel _his desire and affection for her as he moved his lips against hers, his hand resting on her cheek. She pulled him closer by his wrinkled Muggle T-shirt, reveling in the feel of his body so close to hers; she could feel his hardened abs, the curves and dips of his muscular chest, each breath he took. He finally pulled away, leaving her light-headed and wanting his lips right on hers again immediately.

"_Hermione_," he whispered, his lips swollen and hair tousled. Unable to stand the absence of his touch, she directed his lips onto hers again with a tug on his shirt, allowing him to lift her onto his lap, her brain lacking the ability to produce coherent thoughts. She felt tingles erupt in her stomach, her heart skipping a beat as he moaned against her lips.

How she had survived all of this time without his kiss she did not know.

* * *

The next morning, Hermione awoke with her head against Sirius' T-shirt covered chest, a silly grin on her lips as she remembered last night. His confession, his kisses, his touch...she would have quite the job forgetting last night even if she wanted to. She extracted herself from his arms and got up, her neck hurting from the position she had slept in on the couch. Stretching, she noticed a scrap of parchment on the clean hardwood floor.

Bending down, she picked it up, her curiosity piqued. Unfolding it, she read the neatly scribbled note, her heart nearly stopping as she comprehended the terrifying meaning of it.

_Your secret is now confined within seven others, rather than six. I know about your hunt for the Dark Lord's Horcruxes._

**_A/N: _**_Hoped you all enjoyed it! Please review :D_


	18. Voldemort and Gossip

**A/N: **Can it be? Is that an update? Why yes it is! I know I've been a terrible FF updater this month and I am really sorry about that. I've been really busy taking finals, abusing my Netflix, and gracing my friends with my presence every so often, so much that I kept finding myself with minimal amounts of time to write. But, finally, here's a new chapter! I will try to get another update out very soon. Thanks to all of my readers and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 18 - Voldemort and Gossip**

"No," whispered Hermione faintly, the note slipping from her grasp. It fluttered onto the ground, soundlessly landing next to her feet. A shaky hand absently sprang up to her rapidly beating heart, her chocolate eyes glossy with tears she refused to shed. She shook her head to herself, refusing to even venture into her muddled thoughts. Fear gripped her at the mere thought of someone, a possibly _evil _someone, knowing about their attempts to vanquish the presence of Voldemort.

She vainly tried to snap herself back to reality. Coherent, reasonable thoughts pushed against the powerful waves of terror dominating her mind, feebly resounding in her thoughts before losing. Only one sensible idea seemed to stand out in her brain.

_Sirius. _

Shaking off a small amount of fear, Hermione spun around and lunged at the sofa, a hand quickly reaching forward to shake the slumbering Gryffindor awake. "Sirius, you arse, wake up!" shrieked Hermione, uncharacteristically muttering a string of curses under her breath as Sirius failed to wake up. "Sirius Black!" Desperation was clouding her senses; it was almost admirable that she hadn't gone completely hysterical by that point.

She almost resorted to rapping him across the head with her wand when he finally began to stir. Hermione exhaled in relief when his silver eyes finally blinked open.

"Where's the fire?" he mumbled tiredly, a hand immediately darting up to his slightly ruffled tresses. Hermione involuntarily rolled her eyes as she huffed impatiently.

"There is no fire, but there is an emergency," breathed Hermione, hair frazzled, chest rising and falling as she attempted to contain her panic and think clearly.

"What's the problem?" asked Sirius, his eyes opening wider as he registered Hermione's state. His hand immediately grasped hers, a calloused thumb running over it soothingly.

Without letting go of his hand, Hermione leaned forward and shakily plucked the parchment off of the ground. Wordlessly, she handed it over to a confused Sirius. What could be so distressing about a piece of parchment?

Unfolding it cautiously, he read the neatly penned note, his mouth moving silently with each word. Hermione examined the rapid change of Sirius' demeanor: one moment, he was relaxed and visibly puzzled, while the next his eyes had darkened and his stance had become tense.

"Where did you find this?" His stare was still glued to the paper and his grasp on Hermione's hand had weakened. Hunching over, his eyes darted incessantly as he reread the note thoroughly, fruitlessly searching for any hidden clue as to who had sent it.

"My robe. It fell out of my pocket when I was stretching this morning," she said tearfully, shaking her head. "Oh, Sirius, what are we going to do? My one goal was to keep this hidden and... I failed."

Sirius dropped the note and turned to Hermione, startling her. "Don't you go blaming yourself for this," he growled, his hands cupping her face. "This was _not_ your fault. You didn't go shouting about Voldemort's Horcruxes in the middle of the Great Hall, did you?"

Using the pads of his thumbs, Sirius wiped away the rogue tears that had managed to escape her expressive eyes. Hermione's russet orbs always astounded him; how could a pair of irises convey her every emotion? He involuntarily shivered when she subconsciously lent towards his hand and exhaled a rattling breath.

"You're right," she breathed out, shaking her head. _Be reasonable, don't lose your composure. Everything will be fine._ This became her soothing mantra as she focused on calming down and regaining her ability to think logically. However, she couldn't help but feel ashamed of herself. Hermione Granger _never _freaked out as she had this morning. _From this point on_, she lectured herself, _you will focus on finding the Horcruxes, destroying them, and protecting your friends. _

"What should we do? Should we tell the others?" asked Sirius as he moved his hands from Hermione's face down to her clenched fists.

Hermione automatically shook her head stubbornly. "No. What's the use in worrying them?"

She could tell by the look Sirius' face that he disagreed with her, but she spoke again before he could put down her beliefs. "If I get another note, we can tell them. Right now, how about we just refocus our attentions on the Horcrux hunt."

"It's almost Christmas time. I know that destroying Voldemort is bloody important, but we really don't have the spare time, Hermione. After the Christmas holiday, we will start up again," insisted Sirius, his eyes staring imploringly into Hermione's, hoping that she would see reason.

"Sirius," she sighed, her nose wrinkled.

"Don't whine."

"I'm not whining," snapped Hermione, pulling her hands from his grasp and standing up from the sofa before purposefully walking over to a mirror hanging over the

mantelpiece. She winced at the sight of her voluminous hair, immediately attempting to unknot the bushy mass with her fingers.

Hermione felt rather than heard Sirius approach her before hearing him whisper an incantation. Almost instantaneously, her matted curls were untangled as if by an invisible hand. Her mouth fell open in surprise, her eyes poising the unspoken question.

"How do you think I manage my beautiful raven locks?" asked Sirius jokingly, although his voice lacked humor. It was obvious he didn't want to fight with Hermione; he just didn't want her going off the deep end all because of this note.

"Thanks," muttered Hermione, straightening her robes before turning abruptly. She eyed him pensively, her expression still faintly disgruntled, as if she was making a particularly hard decision. Suddenly nodding to herself, Hermione stood on her tiptoes and pressed a chaste, close mouthed kiss to Sirius' lips. Although surprised by the unexpected kiss, Sirius returned it just as innocently, his eyes fluttering shut as Hermione absently played with the ends of his hair. He reveled in the gentle feeling of Hermione, the tentative, experimental way in which she moved her lips against his sending chills up his spine.

Deepening the kiss, he pressed her smaller body closer to his, lifting her so that her toes barely touched the ground. Her hands moved to his face as his fell to her waist, gripping her robes in an attempt to steady her as he felt her knees shaking. Hermione gasped in surprise as Sirius captured her bottom lip between both of his, cradling it softly before darting his tongue out to ask for entrance. He felt Hermione smirk against his lips before she drew away almost as suddenly as the kiss' inception, a peculiar look on her face.

"Fine," she said, her voice oddly high, her kiss-swollen lips pursed.

"'Fine' what?" he asked confusedly, mind foggy with thoughts of Hermione, thoughts that would probably cause the prim Gryffindor princess to slap him smartly across the face.

"'Fine' as in 'fine, I'll wait until after Christmas'," she said impatiently.

"Wait, so you snog me then tell me you'll wait? What, did your answer depend on my snogging abilities?"

Hermione laughed lightly. "Maybe. Anyway, that's not of any importance right now. You have a Transfiguration essay to do." With that, she entwined hands with the still dazed Sirius and led him towards the sealed wooden doors.

"You're joking. We just find out that someone knows about our efforts to undermine ol' Voldie and _Transfiguration _is the first thing that comes to mind?"

A dark look crossed Hermione's face. "I thought you wanted me to ignore the note's existence?" she questioned, her eyes narrowed.

"Fair point." Lightly pushing the door open, Sirius peered into the corridor. Satisfied at its apparent emptiness, he pulled the two of them out of the room and began walking in the direction of the Gryffindor common room.

"Sirius?"

"Yes, love?" Looking down at Hermione, Sirius was surprised to see that she was glowing a faint pink.

"I know this is probably unimportant right now, given the situation and all and I'm sure this is an inane and trivial thing for me to even be _wondering _about but -"

"You're rambling, love." He vaguely noticed that they had halted in the middle of a corridor; all of his attention was on the uncharacteristically stammering Hermione. She bit her lip nervously, a sure sign that she was uncertain in what she wanted to say.

"I was just wondering... are we dating now?" she asked slowly, her eyes wide as they connected with Sirius'.

Sirius laughed. "That's what you were worrying your pretty head over? Of course we're dating now! I didn't pour my heart out to you and then snog you all night for just for the hell of it. That is... unless _you_ don't want to date?" He said the last part nervously, chuckling weakly.

Hermione scoffed, her blush and nervousness subsiding at Sirius' answer. "I didn't snog you _back_ just for the hell of it," she answered slyly, tugging a now grinning Sirius back into motion.

* * *

Hands still lightly clasped together, Sirius and Hermione finally reached the safe haven that was the Gryffindor common room. The room was still void of all students, the sunlight seeping through the thick burgundy curtains as the last vestiges of wood burned in the fireplace.

Upon entering, Sirius immediately bounded over to a nearby sofa and fell onto it, his eyes closed. "I'm too tired for Transfiguration, 'Mione," he complained, drawing out her name.

"Don't whine," she demeaned with a smirk, sitting down at the edge of the sofa.

"Don't use my words against me," drawled Sirius tiredly.

Hermione gasped suddenly, a hand slapping her forehead. "I forgot the textbook in the Room!" she exclaimed, groaning.

"Ha! Can't do Transfiguration then, can I?" asked Sirius, grinning.

"We have legs, you know. We could always just go back and get -"

"Nonsense!" cried Sirius, who had sat up and wrapped his arms around a wriggling Hermione, burying his face in her neck. "I can think of plenty of things we can do besides writing that bugger of an essay," he murmured, his voice suddenly deeper and huskier, causing goosebumps to raise along Hermione's arms.

"Transfiguration -" Hermione began sternly before inhaling sharply as Sirius innocently began placing fluttering kisses on her collarbone and neck. " - is very important," she continued lamely, biting her lip to suppress a surprised squeal as he nibbled at her ear.

"McGonagall is going to kill you!" she feebly threatened, although her irritation with Sirius was almost nonexistent.

Suddenly changing route, Sirius lightly threaded a hand into Hermione's slightly tamed mane, and, his eyes dancing with mirth, said, "For future reference, don't mention McGonagall while I'm kissing you." Laughing, Hermione beat him to the punch and kissed him with a force that surprised Sirius, who had been expecting the same gentleness she had displayed before.

Both of the Gryffindors were so enveloped in their passionate snogging session that the light treading of footsteps coming from the staircase behind them went unnoticed. However, the squeal that the interloper emitted was heard loud and clear. Hermione unceremoniously flung Sirius off of her lips and stood up, twirling around in a swish of robes.

A shellshocked and wide-eyed Calenna stood in front of the stairwell, her mouth gaping open in surprise.

"No way," she said, shaking her head, blinking feverishly. "You finally grew a pair of balls and asked Hermione out."

"Why yes I did, Cal. And it's all thanks to you, of course. Go on, give yourself a pat on the back," said Sirius sardonically, turning to look at the confused girl.

"What? What do I have to do with anything?"

Sirius swiftly jumped over the back of the sofa, leaning against it as he spoke.

"Your cheeky comment about how I was 'jealous' of you and Remus piqued our sharp Hermione's curiosity, I professed my undying affection for her, and next thing I knew she was all over me," drawled Sirius casually, a faint grin on his face.

"I was _not _all over him!" insisted Hermione defiantly, her face a flaming red.

"Sure, Hermione," said Calenna, obviously unconvinced. "You two looked _very_ cozy on that sofa."

Hermione stammered unintelligibly, her blush deepening. "I actually have a question, Cal," interrupted Sirius, his eyes alight with mischief. "That staircase you just wandered down... it leads to the boys' dormitories."

Calenna had the look of someone who had just been caught pushing Snape down a flight of stairs. Her doe brown eyes widened, her face paling significantly. She tried to cover it by scoffing weakly, but Sirius spotted the slight vestiges of bashfulness written across her features. It was then that Hermione truly saw Calenna's disheveled appearance. Her bobbed hair was in disarray, the direct opposite of its normal perfectly coiffed, bouncy state. She was still wearing the pair of muggle jeans, T-shirt, and robes of yesterday.

"You slept up there!" accused a recovered Hermione, choking back a laugh.

"Okay, okay, you caught me," relented Calenna. "I slept in Remus' bed last night."

"Wow! I didn't know you two would go at it with Peter and Frank sleeping in the room," chuckled Sirius, who was nodding his head in joking approval.

"We didn't do anything, though! Besides, where were you two last night? Off shacking up in a broom cupboard?" asked Calenna, crossing her arms.

"I would never do such a thing!" exclaimed Hermione defiantly before cracking a grin. "We were shacking up in the Room of Requirement."

They all burst into laughter, Sirius leaning on Hermione for support. A few younger students had begun milling down the steps, sparing the hysterically cackling trio a confused glance before continuing to the portrait door.

"Room of Requirement. _Much_ more classy," choked out Calenna.

"What has got you lot so... mentally unstable?" They all looked up to see a puzzled Remus, an eyebrow raised quizzically.

"Oh, nothing really. Sirius and Hermione are a thing now though," said Calenna, who had finally wrangled in her raucous giggles.

"A 'thing'?" questioned Remus.

"Like you and Calenna are a thing," clarified Sirius. "Not the most eloquent of words to express that we are now going out but what should I expect from Calenna?" The tanned Gryffindor made to lunge at Sirius before she was captured by Remus' restraining arms.

"Remus is the only thing preventing me from turning your hair into worms," said Calenna warningly.

"Like you know the spell to do that."

"Hey, no insulting my girlfriend!" reprimanded Remus.

Sirius simply rolled his eyes in response. "Manly," snorted Calenna.

"Shouldn't we change?" interrupted Hermione.

"Yes you lot _should _get changed," agreed Remus, his eyes twinkling in Hermione's direction.

Extracting herself from Remus' loose hold on her, Calenna looped an arm with Hermione's and smartly led her up the girls' stairwell. The two girls could faintly hear Sirius mischievously say, "So, Moony. Have any girls in your bed lately?"

* * *

Hermione had an inkling that the romantic relationship that had sprang up between herself and Sirius would most likely be talked about throughout Hogwarts.

However, she had missed the memo that said that dating Sirius Black, the infamous lothario of Hogwarts, would cause a wildfire the size of Scotland.

On the first day of their "coupledom" (as Mariella had called it), the only people who knew were the Gryffindor seventh years. Alice Stone had simply smiled when Calenna had bellowed the news for the whole of the seventh year girls' dormitory to hear. Mariella had gone on a long winded rant about how all of her friends were 'pairing off' before running off to meet Darren Brown, the Hufflepuff she had been dating ever since the first Hogsmeade trip.

On her journey to the Great Hall, Mariella had conveniently collided with an exhausted James and Lily. She thought it pertinent to tell the pair of Sirius and Hermione's newfound romance before skipping away from the scene altogether. Needless to say, Sirius was quite bewildered at breakfast when James began thumping him on the back enthusiastically and Lily rapturously congratulated him on landing a girlfriend who wasn't a "daft dunderhead". Peter and Frank had happened to overhear Sirius raving about Hermione as he chattered to Remus that same morning.

In the end, neither Sirius nor Hermione knew who to blame for leaking the news to the whole school. The pair hadn't done anything particularly couple-y (once again, a word of Mariella's creation) that had hinted to student body of the change in their relationship. They held hands, sat particularly close to one another during each mealtime and class, and, at one point, Sirius even placed a kiss on Hermione's scrunched up nose. However, the school paid no attention to these things; over the past two months, they had become used to this kind of behavior between the two friends. Hermione wasn't the hugest fan of public displays of affection, so all snogging was done in elusive alcoves or abandoned corridors (Hermione refused to enter broom cupboards at all costs).

Hermione couldn't be sure when the news had began to spread. The next morning, she had awoken feeling a little less strained than usual, although the threat of Voldemort and the note still lingered in her mind. She had dressed in her uniform and robes, combed her stubborn hair without the help of Sirius' helpful charm, and woke up all of her roommates. They had all sleepily followed the considerably more invigorated Hermione down the winding staircase, where she met up with a grinning Sirius. It was then that Hermione noticed the stares of the students in the Common Room.

She immediately noticed that most of the stares were (1) directed pointedly at her and (2) all from girls. Many eyed Hermione contemplatively or with interest, simply examining the confused girl before turning away. The majority of them glared openly at her, most of them donning expressions of envy and anger.

The broad grin slid cleanly off of Sirius' face as his eyes scanned the almost eerily subdued room, his arm moving protectively around Hermione before leading her out the door.

"Now, what's the exact reason for all of those pleasant glares directed at me?" asked Hermione upon entering the silent corridor.

Sirius' arm remained around Hermione as he led her to a hidden passageway. "Because of me," he answered, his tone dark. "I'm guessing that the fact that we're dating has spread around the school."

"Oh," was all Hermione said as she nodded her head in understanding. "So all of the girls that were looking at me as if I was the gum stuck to their shoe were ex-girlfriends of yours?" she asked calmly, casually lifting a tapestry for them to travel through.

Sirius winced. "I wish you wouldn't phrase it like that, love."

Hermione laughed airily. "It's true though, isn't it? Although, I'm guessing some of them are girls you've snogged in cupboards rather than actual girlfriends," she said bemusedly.

"Right on the target, you are," sighed Sirius, shaking his head as they began walking down a flight of rickety stairs.

"Don't worry. I know all of those girls were _before _I crash-landed into your life. I know better than to succumb to petty jealousy over girls you dated long ago," she assured him, her face still portraying her slight amusement.

"That's something I've never heard before," mused Sirius, his grey eyes lighting up momentarily before darkening as they reached the Great Hall.

"The stares are going to be worse in there," warned Sirius. "We could just go nip down to the kitchens and get something to eat there..."

"No," voiced Hermione, her chin tilted defiantly. "All of your former flings cannot possibly defeat me. I mean, I've fought Death Eaters. How bad could a few catty girls be?" she said jokingly.

Cautiously pushing open the gigantic doors, Sirius gave Hermione one last warning. "The Gryffindor girls may seem vicious, but they're nothing compared to the girls in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff..."

* * *

Sirius' seemingly unnecessary warning proved to be all too true. Hermione had braved the glares in the Great Hall, holding her head high as Sirius squeezed her hand reassuringly and combated the jealous girls with glowers of his own. At the Gryffindor table, James, Lily, Remus, Calenna, and Mariella formed a protective circle around Hermione, tossing glares and oftentimes hexes over their shoulders.

It wasn't until classes were set to begin that Hermione faced direct aggression.

"Be careful in the corridors, 'Mione. You never know who could bounce out from behind a suit of armor or something," warned James as Hermione and Lily stood up from the table.

"I'll be fine, James," she reassured him, patting him on the shoulder. "Anyway, Lily'll be there too."

"Are you _sure_ you don't want me to walk you?" asked Sirius for the tenth time. Hermione shot him a quelling look before linking arms with Lily.

"We'll see you lot second period," said Hermione bracingly. "I'll be fine in Ancient Runes. You all should be on your way to Divination now since the bell is going to ring in five minutes..." They all groaned as the two girls wiggled their fingers in farewell.

Hermione and Lily chattered enthusiastically about their last Ancient Runes assignment as they maneuvered through the packed hallways, ignoring the insipid girls who were still shooting Hermione menacing looks. They were only a few turns away from the classroom when Hermione's bag split open, her books falling to the cobblestone with resounding thuds.

She groaned. "I knew I should have taken my Transfiguration book out of my bag last night. Go ahead, Lily, I'll be there in a second."

"Are you sure? I can wait if you'd like." She said this as her eyes darted to her watch.

"Go ahead!" said Hermione, bending down to pick her books up.

"Okay," conceded Lily. She continued along the route to the classroom, glancing back before turning the corner.

"You really need to be careful, honey." Hermione started at the bodiless voice, her eyes searching for the source. A tall, slim girl stepped out from behind a tapestry, her condescending sneer contradicting the sympathy in her green eyes. She tucked a strand of copper colored hair behind her ear as she looked down at a confused Hermione.

"Excuse me, but who are you exactly?" asked Hermione politely, slowly standing up, her ruined bag in her hands. The girl looked slightly familiar, although Hermione wagered a guess that she wasn't a seventh year. The bell signaling the beginning of classes rang, but neither of the girls flinched.

"Angelica Singer," she answered, her simpering tone still in tact. "I'm an ex-girlfriend of Sirius'." Hermione could tell by her neatly knotted tie that she was a Ravenclaw. She noted Sirius' warning words to her before answering.

"Thank you for telling me that. Now, if you excuse me, I need to get to my class," responded Hermione coolly, fixing her tattered bag with a flick of her wand.

"Oh, but I'm not done talking to you." The dark tone of Angelica's voice made Hermione freeze.

"Well, I'm done talking to _you_." Hermione could feel her patience fleeing from her as she stared unblinkingly at the other girl.

"No need to be feisty. I just came to warn you."

"I don't want a warning from you! I don't need to be told about Sirius' promiscuous ways or how he's going to break my heart in a week. It doesn't matter what you or any other of Sirius' ex-girlfriends tell me!" she said loudly, losing all patience. Without sparing the Ravenclaw another glance, Hermione magicked her books into her repaired bag and walked away calmly, leaving a fuming Angelica in her wake.

* * *

"How many girls have confronted you today?" James asked interestedly over dinner on the last Friday before Christmas break.

"Only three," mused Hermione, sipping her goblet of pumpkin juice.

"And how many girls have Calenna and Mariella been forced to hex?" asked Remus, amused.

"Five for me," Calenna answered with a grin.

"I've hexed seven," piped up Mariella proudly.

"Technically you've only hexed six, since you hexed Angelica twice..." Calenna trailed off.

"True," conceded Mariella.

"I wish you wouldn't make a sport out of this," said Sirius wearily. "These girls shouldn't be harassing Hermione in the first place."

"It's fine, Sirius. It'll probably die down after the holiday. Although that means I have to endure it all through the break," she groaned.

"What are you talking about? Aren't you staying with me and Prongs at the Potter manor?" asked Sirius, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Oh, am I?" she asked, blushing slightly. "I didn't know that I was invited."

"Of course you are!" James shouted enthusiastically. "Moony and Wormtail will drop by and the girls will probably too-" he winked at Lily, "-so it'll be one huge party!"

"There will need to be a lapse in the constant partying for your schoolwork," chided Lily sternly.

"Yeah, yeah," said James airily. "We'll get our stuff done. So you're coming, right 'Mione?"

Hermione grinned and nodded. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." James and Sirius beamed.

"Hermione Granger?" She turned around at the sound of her name, expecting to see another jilted ex-fling of Sirius' only to see a short, female Gryffindor third-year.

"Professor Dumbledore asks that you report to his office right after dinner," the young girl recited.

Although puzzled, Hermione nodded. "Thank you." Turning back to her friends, she said, "I'll see you lot back in the common room. Dumbledore needs to see me."

"Wonder what for," mused Remus. Hermione shrugged noncommittally although inside she felt nervousness gathering in her stomach. Sending Sirius a pointed glance, she bid her friends farewell and began her upward journey through the castle, thanking her lucky stars that all of her aggressors were still at dinner.

"Pepper Imps," she spoke clearly. The gargoyles leaped aside spritely, revealing the rotating staircase within. Finally, she arrived at the forbidding door and knocked twice.

"Come in."

Wrapping her hand around the brass knob, she opened the door cautiously. As usual, Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, his chin resting on his old, steepled hands.

"Hello, Professor. You wanted to see me?" She tried her hardest to keep her voice even and calm.

"Yes, Miss Granger. Please, take a seat." Making herself comfortable in one of the cushy chairs, Dumbledore spoke again. "It's been quite some time since we've last spoken. I know that you didn't quite agree with my decisions during our last meeting."

Hermione only blushed in response. Dumbledore continued, "Since last time, I've assembled what I think to be a trusty group of wizards and witches to be members of the Order, but we haven't had much luck in capturing any of the Death Eaters you've listed."

"Although many of the Death Eaters lack brains, Lord Voldemort does not. He has trained them to be incredibly stealthy and sneaky. They don't parade their evil leanings for all to see, so I know that the task is a tricky one," said Hermione, her voice strong.

Dumbledore nodded in comprehension. "I've gathered as much myself. We know the everyday locations that each Death Eater frequents but we've yet to find any suitable information that would apprehend them," said Dumbledore, his voice pensive. "Miss Granger, have you told anyone your secret?"

Hermione started at the rapid change of topic, unprepared with an answer. Wrangling in her thoughts quickly, she attempted to implement her miniscule Occlumency skills before answering. "No, sir."

Dumbledore eyed her thoughtfully. She stared just as steadily back, resisting the urge to blink or gulp nervously. All the while, she imagined a transparent barrier around her thoughts, stopping Dumbledore from seeing anything incriminating. Finally, he nodded in acquiescence. "Right, then. Have you decided what you are doing for Christmas, Miss Granger?"

"Yes, I'm staying with James Potter and his family, sir," she answered, once again disconcerted by the change in subject.

"Ah, yes. Young Sirius Black is staying with them as well. You two have caused quite the fuss within the school," he mused, eyes twinkling.

Hermione flushed crimson. "I guess so, sir."

He smiled genially. "Well, I won't keep you any longer, Miss Granger." Inwardly breathing a sigh of relief, Hermione left the office at a mild speed, resisting the urge to hurriedly leave as fast as she could.

Reaching the bottom of the staircase, Hermione smiled to herself. Not only was she going to meet Harry's grandparents, but she was also going to spend an entire Christmas with Sirius. For once, she decided to take Sirius' advice and let go of all of her stress...well, until the holiday was over at least.

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you all enjoyed! Please review :3


	19. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Let me start by saying that I'm an idiot who was too lazy to confer with the book before writing a bloody fic.

And that I'm sorry for my mistake.

Okay, so when I was a youngster (only 4 months younger than I am now, but it's quite the difference) and decided to start this fic, I thought of the plot of this story on a whim. I didn't think it'd spark into anything serious until the reviews started flowing in. I continued to update regularly, still not cottoning on to the fact that I'm stupid. Until now.

I have realized that the first chapter of my work of fanfiction is canonically impossible, seeing how Hermione is almost always with Harry and/or Ron during the Battle of Hogwarts. It started annoying the absolute crap out of me as I was writing the outline to chapter 19 and I have been beating myself up about it for the past few hours, trying to think of some sort of solution to this problem that wouldn't affect the whole flow that this story was going on.

SO, I decided that although it wasn't canon in terms of the books, it IS canon in terms of the movie (the movie being the one that was just released). I have decided that Hermione's traversing of time happened BEFORE she and Ron were running on the Grand Staircase with intent of killing Nagini and AFTER Harry ~rose from the dead~. I'm sorry if this annoys/deters anyone, but I needed to do it for the sake of my well being and for the sake of the story.

Another point that I found was incorrect in my story was that Hermione summoned the Diadem when the book clearly tells me that's impossible. So I edited that part of the Diadem chapter so that she physically fetches it rather than summons it. It occurs a little bit under the 5th Line Break if anyone's interested in checking out the small edit.

Once again, I'm really sorry about this and I hope you'll stick with me on this journey despite my carelessness. Trust me, I'm more focused now and am being particular with details. I am also sorry for the long wait; I am working on the next chapter now, which is what sparked my attention to my faults in the first place. It should hopefully be up soon.

-Amanda


	20. Christmas with the Potters

**A/N:** Sorry for the monstrously long wait! I will try my hardest to get the next chapter out within the week. Thank you to everyone who reviewed/read Chapter 18 as well as a gigantic thanks to those who offered kind words of advice to me after my self-deprecating author's note. You all made me feel better about my decision, and to that I can't thank you all enough. I also wanted to thank my lovely real life friends MarauderNicki and TheOneAndOnlyGlitter, who are always there for me whenever I'm freaking out over not only fanfic related issues but any other random problems as well. So, thanks for being awesome, guys! :) Sorry for the overlong A/N! Hope everyone enjoys the chapter!

**Just a side note:** In _Deathly Hallows_ (the book), Bellatrix does not cut Mudblood in Hermione's arm but does so in the movie. I thought this aspect of things would work well in my story so I have decided to incorporate it. It'll come into play later.

* * *

**Chapter 19 - Christmas with the Potters**

The corridors still rang with emptiness when Hermione exited Dumbledore's office, but the rumbles coming from beneath her feet suggested that dinner had just been concluded. Quickly scanning the hallway for any suspicious activity, Hermione began treading the path to the Common Room, eyes warily darting from side to side and a hand gripping the wand in her robe pocket... _just in case_, she told herself. She cursed her shoes for making sharp tapping noises on the stone floor, mentally noting her need for a more inconspicuous pair.

Although she didn't want to admit this to herself, she wasn't frightened of Sirius' rabid exes. In fact, she would laugh in their faces if they tried to ambush her in the middle of a vacant corridor. The only person that she was indeed _petrified_ of was the enigmatic author of the note she had been sent.

Cautiously rounding the corner, she paused when she heard slow, but steadily approaching footsteps coming from the tapestry right next to her. She couldn't think of any particular reason a student would be near Dumbledore's office, seeing as every single Common Room was nowhere near it. Now holding her wand at the ready, she clutched it like a lifeline, depending on the thin stick of wood to ward off any threat. Taking a shaky breath, Hermione rushed forward before she could lose her bravery and pulled back the tapestry before the other person could, shrieking when she came face to chest with the culprit. She immediately stumbled backward and looked up at the boy's face in alarm, only to find a very amused Sirius.

"Merlin's pants, Sirius!" she sputtered, her face pale.

"Who'd you think it was? I went to look for you by Dumbledore's office but you weren't there so I just moseyed my way through this shortcut," Sirius explained in a casual tone, walking forward to place a concerned hand on Hermione's arm. "Is everything okay? You seem a bit tense."

"Just a tad tense," was Hermione's faint response. "Trouble could just pop up from behind a suit of armor."

"Not if I, Sir Sirius, am here to ward trouble away!" he exclaimed, hooking his arm with Hermione's before leading her down the corridor.

She rolled her eyes at Sirius' weak attempt at humor but played along anyway, her face brightening slightly as she wrinkled her nose. "Well I, Lady Hermione, am not a damsel in distress."

"My lady, you are correct. You are more like a damsel who seems to have a magnetic attraction to trouble."

Hermione laughed, the faint sparkle that glimmered in her eyes causing Sirius to smile. "I can't disagree with you there, my kind sir."

* * *

The Fat Lady swung open to reveal an almost deafeningly loud Common Room. It seemed as if the whole of Gryffindor House was in an uproar. A few students were fruitlessly searching for misplaced items or taking a stab at one of the many essays professors had assigned over the break, while the majority of the Gryffindors were carrying on raucous conversations with their friends or snogging their significant others in plain sight of the whole Common Room.

Despite the outrageous noise level, both Hermione and Sirius could clearly hear a familiar voice screeching over the yells of the other students.

"JAMES POTTER, YOU BETTER HAVE A LOGICAL EXPLANATION FOR WHAT YOU JUST DID OR I WILL HEX YOU TO WITHIN AN INCH OF YOUR LIFE!"

Hermione spotted a livid, red faced Lily and a cowering James standing in front of the fire, Calenna watching on in apparent amusement and Remus completely ignoring the brouhaha, his head buried in a book.

Deciding to put his poor friend out of his misery, Sirius dragged Hermione over to the scene of the fight. She immediately sat down next to Calenna, putting a far distance between herself and the quarreling pair; if Sirius was going to get involved, things were most likely about to turn ugly.

"Keep your shirt on, Lily, I'm sure Prongsie here didn't mean to offend you," he drawled, interrupting before Lily could spew out even more anger. James looked relieved as he sneakily retreated to an empty armchair and sank into it, making a fruitless effort to become unnoticeable.

"Don't you get involved," she growled menacingly, glaring at Sirius. However, James' getaway didn't escape her notice. "And you! Don't think you can just scurry off now that your boyfriend is here to defend you!" she yelled, pointing at an alarmed James.

Tuning out James' stammering about "a mistake", Hermione turned to the riveted girl beside her.

"What did that blibbering baboon do exactly?" she asked, a hint of a smile on her face.

"Lily was working on a Charms essay... until James tugged it away from her. He was little too enthusiastic, seeing as he flung it into the fire," whispered Calenna, pointing at an almost completely burned roll of parchment curled on the coffee table.

"Couldn't Lily just... fix it with her wand?" asked Hermione bemusedly.

"Lily forgets she's a witch when she's angry," she replied, still speaking in a hushed tone.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you whispering?"

"So Lily doesn't bite my head of for talking too loudly or breathing in too much air or -" Calenna was interrupted from her whispered rant when a loud bang and a cloud of smoke exploded from the scene in front of them, obscuring their vision. Remus finally put his book down, looking at the green, hazy smoke in befuddlement.

"What happened here?" he asked, coughing slightly as he inhaled the now foul smelling air.

Instead of answering, Hermione cleared the smoke with a flick of her wand, only to reveal a still angry but smug Lily, a choking but otherwise unhurt Sirius, and a squirming slug on the ground.

"_Did you turn Prongs into a slug?_" cried Sirius in disbelief, marveling at the now panicking insect, who seemed to be attempting to hurriedly inch its way to Sirius.

"What do you think?" demanded Lily, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed into slits.

"Merlin, Lily, you are one crazy -"

"Do you want to join James?"

"Uh, no, sorry Master Lily."

"I guess I should probably change him back," she mused, a hand on her chin.

"Yeah, I'm sure he has repented for his sins," agreed Calenna, who had knelt down on the floor to get a better look at James the slug. Remus joined her, gently plucking James from the ground, ignoring Lily's shudder and Calenna's mutter of 'that's disgusting'.

Remus suddenly laughed. "Ah, would you look at this. How fetching."

"What is?" asked Sirius, bounding over and snatching James from Remus' hand.

"Don't hurt him!" screeched Lily, burnt essay now forgotten as James' safety was in jeopardy. Ignoring the shrieking redhead, Sirius examined James the slug's face before bursting into peals of laughter.

"What's so hilarious to you about a slug?" asked Hermione, a hand on her hip.

"He has circle markings around his eyes because of his glasses, bless him," Sirius mused in amazement.

Remus and Sirius showed no signs of attempting to change the poor Marauder back to his original state, so it was with a exasperated sigh that Hermione took pity on James and gingerly pried him from Sirius' loose grip.

"Hey, I was having fun playing with Sluggy James!" cried Sirius. However, any further argument from Sirius was quieted when Lily angrily punched him in the stomach.

After Hermione placed James the slug on the couch, Lily did a complicated twirl with her wand and gestured it at James, the same green smoke clouding around the sofa until it finally cleared to reveal a spluttering James.

"You!" he yelled, jabbing a finger at Sirius. "You prat! I was suffering! You kicked me when I was down!"

"Evans was the one who Transfigured you!" By this point, Sirius was backing away in trepidation, Remus had returned to his book, Lily was trying to fix her charred essay, and Hermione and Calenna were innocently chatting, sneaking peeks at the two friends.

"Ah, to think that I'm going to be spending most of break with these hooligans," sighed Calenna, shaking her head in mock shame.

"Won't they be at least a little subdued around James' parents?" questioned Hermione.

Remus snorted.

"I guess that answers my question," laughed Hermione. A loud grunt brought their attention back to the wrestling match that had commenced in front of them.

"James, your hair is about to catch fire," said Lily tonelessly, but it was just a tad too late, seeing as almost the complete top half of his hair knocked into the burning wood in the grate.

If the green smoke explosion hadn't caught the attention of their fellow Gryffindors, James' high pitched scream definitely did.

"Well, I shouldn't just sit here watching these idiots. I should really start my Potions essay..." Hermione trailed off to Calenna. At her friend's lack of reaction, Hermione made her way to the girls' dormitories, purposefully dodging a wand-wielding Sirius as he tried to put out the small fire on James' head.

Remus, unfazed by their antics, turned to a open mouthed Calenna. "Callie?"

Snapping to attention, she turned to Remus, a sheepish grin on her face. "Yes, love button?" she asked jokingly.

He wrinkled his nose at the nickname. "Sorry, I meant _Remus_," corrected Calenna, laughing slightly.

"Better," he conceded, his face reddening slightly when she entwined their hands. He still found it amazing that Calenna was willing to touch him despite his "furry little problem", as James liked to call it. Clearing his throat, Remus continued, "I was just wondering... would you like to meet my parents on Christmas?"

Calenna's eyes widened in shock. "You don't have to if you don't want to, I understand. I know we have only been going out for a little more than a month, but we've liked each other for so long that -" Remus' hasty coverup was cut short by a hand on his mouth.

"Shut up," she advised before moving her hand. "I would love to meet your parents, Remus. I will probably be shaking in my boots the whole time but I'll muster up all of my Gryffindor courage." She grinned, laughing at the bewilderment in his eyes.

"You're absolutely sure, Callie?" he asked, tightening his grip on her hand.

"Of course I'm sure, Remus," she smiled, leaning forward to kiss him.

"Holy snogging!" Sirius interrupted, landing in the seat beside Remus in an undignified heap.

James, who had recovered from his battle with the fire, had rushed to the boys' dormitory to assure himself that his hair was still there, leaving a bored Sirius.

"Can't you allow me one moment of happiness to kiss my girlfriend, Padfoot?" sighed Remus, reluctantly withdrawing his lips from Callie's.

"Of course not, what kind of man do you think I am? On second thought, don't answer that."

"Stop torturing poor Remus," Hermione reprimanded as she rejoined the group, Potions textbook, parchment, and battered quill in hand, taking the only remaining seat beside Calenna.

He sighed dramatically. "Fine, my dear lady. I'll leave Sir Remus alone so he could gift Lady Callie with his amazing snogging abilities," he grumbled in mock anger.

Remus, Calenna, and even Lily, who had been immersed in her essay throughout the whole fire debacle, gazed at Sirius in amazement. "Did you just agree to lay off of Remus? No questions asked?" asked Lily, her voice incredulous.

"Yeah, so what?" Sirius squirmed under Lily's calculating stare, looking to Hermione for assistance, only to see that she was tactfully penning her Potions essay.

Calenna looked as if she was about to burst into laughter. "You're whipped, mate." Hermione's ears turned pink at this comment, but she remained silent, eyes trained on her parchment.

Sirius simply shrugged in response, ruffling his hair as a diversionary tactic that almost never worked.

Thankfully, James bounded back into the room before Remus could get a word in. Taking advantage of his best friend's return, Sirius resumed their fight, kicking James in the shin as soon as he reached the rug in front of the fire.

Losing interest in the fight almost immediately after it started, Lily and Hermione swiftly returned to their essays while Calenna wasted no time in pulling Remus in for another kiss.

By the time the clock chimed eleven, the Common Room was deserted other than the Marauders and the girls. Calenna was nodding off on Remus' shoulder as he and James played a particularly violent game of Wizard's chess, Lily had fallen asleep with her cheek against her Charms textbook, and Hermione was idly chatting with Sirius, her body nestled into his side.

"Where's Mariella?" asked Hermione, just noticing her absence. "I thought maybe she was with Alice but I didn't see her go off to bed."

"She's with that bloke she's going out with. Darren something or other," responded Sirius, his eyes threatening to shut as he suppressed a yawn.

"At eleven o'clock at night?"

"It appears to be so. I think they might have snuck out to Hogsmeade."

Hermione shot up in her seat. "But that's dangerous! Especially at this time of night..."

Sirius gingerly pulled her back into his arms. "It's okay. James lent them his Invisibility Cloak. They'll be fine," he murmured reassuringly.

Hermione opened her mouth to argue her point further before an odd squeaking noise interrupted her thoughts.

"Do you hear that?" she asked, sitting up straight once more. She heard it again: a sniffling, scurrying noise that was almost faint in its volume.

Sirius shook his head. "I don't hear anything, Hermione. Maybe you should get some sleep."

Normally, she would have investigated the situation further, but sleep seemed too appealing to the drowsy girl. Sighing, she decided to take Sirius' word for it and leaned her head against his robe-clad shoulder, falling into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Like the night of the Gryffindor victory party, Hermione awoke to the feel of her thick comforter and the sight of the canvas canopy of her four poster bed. The only major difference was the noise level. Last time, the dormitory had been peacefully quiet; this morning, however, the first thing Hermione heard was stomping and unintelligible ranting.

Taking a second to rub her eyes and flatten her knotted hair, Hermione cautiously opened the hangings around her bed, only to duck immediately as a flying shoe sailed over her head.

"Good morning, Hermione," greeted a complacent Mariella, who was lounging on the bed beside Hermione as if the shouting that was ringing through the dormitory was not occurring.

"Morning..." Hermione trailed off, shooting the blonde a perplexed look that went unanswered. Standing up, Hermione tentatively walked to the middle of the dormitory, which now resembled a war zone in which items of clothing and school supplies were the victims. She spotted a nervous looking Alice hurriedly but neatly packing her belongings into her trunk, eyes darting around as she grabbed a textbook from her bedside table. It didn't take Hermione long to locate the source of the now muffled yelling.

Calenna was currently half under her bed, apparently searching for some missing article of clothing.

"I need this top! It's the only appropriate top I own!" came her slightly quieted shriek.

"Is she okay?" asked Hermione, peering at Calenna from what she deemed a safe distance.

Mariella shrugged. "Is she ever okay is the better question," she replied.

Making sure not to step on any of Calenna's discarded clothing, Hermione made her way over to her already packed trunk at the foot of the bed. She had only been planning on sifting through her meager supplies for a jumper and a pair of jeans when she spotted a small money bag with a note attached. The familiarly loopy handwriting made it obvious that it was from Dumbledore.

_Miss Granger, _

_Please accept my apologies. Foolishly, I had forgotten that you traveled to this time with no money to your name. I expect you were wondering as to how you were to purchase gifts for your friends. _

_Happy holidays._

"Oh!" she exclaimed, clapping a hand to her mouth. The issue of buying Christmas presents had seemed tiny in her brain, a brain so concentrated on issues much bigger than gifts.

"Alright, Hermione?" asked Mariella.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just completely forgot about getting people presents," she answered, blindly pulling a knitted jumper from her trunk.

"Oh, that's not a big deal," Mariella said, waving a hand. "You don't have to buy us anything."

"What she said!" agreed Calenna, who had finally emerged from under the bed, her dark hair covered in dust.

Hermione shook her head. "It's only right that I get you something, I mean, after all that you've done and will do for me," said Hermione cryptically, knowing that Alice was within earshot.

Calenna spared her a snort and went back to her violent search, desperately lifting back her bedsheets.

"What shirt are you even looking for? And why is it so important?" asked Hermione, tugging on a pair of jeans.

"I'm looking for my 'parent appropriate' shirt, as I call it," Callie answered, pausing in her actions. "It's long sleeved and it's a nice burgundy color. Remus always compliments me when I wear it...The toilets! It'll be in that area!" she exclaimed suddenly, scampering to the washroom.

Hermione, however, was staring confusedly at the spot where Calenna was just standing. "Wasn't the top -"

"In her hand?" finished Mariella, smirking. "Yeah. I haven't had the heart to tell her, though."

In her frenzied state, Calenna scoured the dormitory for another ten minutes until finally, Hermione decided to be helpful and clue her in on the shirt's location. That led to yet another angry rant that Hermione successfully quieted by kindly packing Calenna's far flung items with a sweep of her wand.

"That was an interesting way to begin my day," remarked Mariella as the three girls lugged their heavy trunks down the girls' stairwell.

"Interesting?" huffed Calenna. "More like nightmarish!"

"Well, at least I helped you in the end," added Hermione, hoping to halt another frustrated outburst on Calenna's part.

"Could have helped in the beginning," muttered Calenna mutinously. However, her sour mood vanished when the girls reached the bustling Common Room, something Hermione allotted to Remus' presence. It was times like this that Hermione felt relieved that Remus and Callie had become a couple.

"Morning, lovely," drawled Sirius, giving Hermione a light kiss.

"Good morning, Sirius," she sighed happily, wrapping her arms around his neck briefly.

"Excited about meeting the Potters?" he asked as he cast a charm that made their trunks feather light.

"Oh, yes!" said Hermione, following Sirius as he easily pulled the trunks through the jabbering crowd. "I'm a bit nervous, though."

Sirius batted a hand. "The Potters are the best. You have nothing to be afraid of," he said, shouldering the portrait door open.

"You live with them now, right?" she asked, following him down the corridor.

His eyes darkened. "Yeah. How'd you know that?" he asked warily.

Sirius' rapid change in mood disconcerted her. "Future you told me that," said Hermione, trying to keep her alarm out of her voice, lightly touching his hand.

His face brightened slightly before his expression changed to apologetic. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound defensive. It's weird, but sometimes I forgot you're not from this time."

"I wish I could forget too," she muttered, bumping shoulders with him.

* * *

"Sirius, would you be a doll and get off my lap," growled Remus, his teeth clenched in annoyance. "There's more than enough room in the compartment."

"But your lap is so comfy, Moony," protested Sirius.

"Is it me or are they flirting?" Calenna asked Hermione and Mariella in a stage whisper.

"Urgh," groaned Remus before forcefully pushing Sirius onto the floor.

"Merlin, Moony, you could have been gentle," muttered Sirius, rubbing his head with a disgruntled expression adorning his face.

"Well, Padfoot, you should have thought of the consequences of sitting on my lap _before _you did it," said Remus in satisfaction.

"I didn't know you'd be so opposed to it!" grumbled Sirius, plopping into the seat next to Hermione.

"We've only been on the train for ten minutes and you're already bickering like a married couple," sighed Hermione. "Should Callie and I be concerned?"

"Nah," said Sirius, grinning. "Well maybe Cal should be." He winked mischievously at a scowling Remus.

"I'm surprised you joined us today, Mariella. Don't you usually sit with Darren?" said Remus pointedly.

"He's a prefect, so he has those duties to attend to. Besides, we spent a lot of time together yesterday," drawled Mariella, smiling roguishly.

"Ooh, someone's been naughty!" shouted Sirius, drowning out Calenna's excited squeals. Sending Remus a sympathetic look, Hermione tuned out her exuberant friends and vanished behind her Potions textbook.

Only five blissful minutes were spent lost in her book before Sirius decided he was bored.

"Hermione," he crooned, his face an inch from hers.

"Yes, Sirius," she sighed, raising her head. However, her attention was quickly riveted by the brightly colored magazine Mariella was engrossed with.

Shooting forward, Hermione snatched the magazine from Mariella's loose grasp, exhaling in disbelief. "Wow... how didn't I know that it was already being published?" she asked herself, oblivious to the others' confused stares.

"Er, Hermione?" asked Sirius, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Oh, sorry! I'm just surprised," she exclaimed, rifling through the pages. Reading the cover of the magazine, Hermione grinned, any bitter feelings about the magazine's author forgotten in her excitement. "It's the first issue too," she mumbled, absently sitting back down.

"Oh!" she said again, finally processing their perplexed expressions. "My friend Luna's father runs the Quibbler." She held the magazine up slightly. "I didn't think I'd see a copy of it for years...It reminds me of her. She was quite odd, and I can't say I agreed with all of her opinions but... I miss her." Hermione's voice had gone soft near the end of her sentence, the book slipping from her hands. "Sorry, Mariella," she said shakily, picking it up from the ground and handing it back to her.

"It's okay. No problem at all," whispered Mariella in a sad voice. Calenna and Remus looked heartbroken for Hermione, their hands loosely grasped together, while Sirius was eyeing her with an expression of pain on his face.

The next half of the ride was spent in relative silence. Calenna and Remus whispered quietly to each other while Mariella had exchanged the Quibbler for the Daily Prophet. Hermione leaned her head against the cold window, having trouble controlling the sadness on her face. Sirius curled up against her side, hugging her waist in silent comfort, his dark hair tickling her chin.

James and Lily soon showed up, both of them thoroughly annoyed after their Head Boy and Girl duties. Conversation had resumed its boisterous flow at their presence as well as with the appearance of the lunch trolley. Hermione's spirits had lifted somewhat; the antics of the Marauders entertained her almost as much as Lily's angry reactions to them.

However, a simple, innocent question from James was enough to shift her and most of the compartment's moods.

"Where's Wormtail?" asked James, his voice muffled because of the copious amounts of Cauldron Cake in his mouth. Sirius immediately tensed, Hermione's eyes widened, Mariella dropped her newspaper, Calenna slopped half of her butterbeer down her front, and Lily didn't even scold James and his bad manners.

Lily was the first to unfreeze. "No clue," she said, her voice breezy. "Maybe he's in another compartment?" Even to her own ears, the question sounded suspicious. What other friends did Wormtail have?

James scoffed, an eyebrow raised at their actions. "Who else would he sit with?" he asked, voicing Lily's thoughts. "What's his problem been anyway? He's rarely around anymore. He even rejected my invitation for Christmas." At this, Remus' face brightened in realization before darkening. He eyed the rest of his friends keenly, examining their tense stances.

"I don't know. Maybe you should ask him," suggested Hermione lamely.

James shrugged before changing the subject back to pranks and how the Marauders hadn't pulled any lately. Even Sirius, prankster extraordinaire, didn't have his heart fully in the conversation; his mind was too laden with anger at Peter and frustration because of his lack of knowledge of Peter's true whereabouts.

Finally, the train arrived at the smoky station. Students milled out onto the platform, grabbing trolleys for their trunks before running through the barrier in search of their parents. Relieved to finally be going home, the Marauders and the girls scrambled to get their belongings, stuffing the plethora of brightly colored sweet and cake wrappers in their pockets. Hermione had reached up to grab her Potions book from the top rack before stopping in her tracks, arm frozen in place.

"Hermione?" asked James. "You okay there, mate?"

"Shh!" she whispered hurriedly, raising a hand to call for silence, for Hermione had heard the same noise as the one she had heard the night before: the same scurrying and squeaking. "I thought I just heard...a noise again."

"It was probably just my shoe," Sirius said reassuringly, moving his shoe against the ground in a squeaking noise that sounded nothing like the one she had just heard. "Come on, let's go," he said, not giving her a chance to answer before tugging her from the compartment.

* * *

James and Sirius peered over the heads of the Muggles milling around King's Cross station, ignoring the odd glances they garnered as they waved their arms over their heads like windmills. As they hurried past, most of the non magical folk were flabbergasted as to why the shorter, messy haired boy also had an owl in a cage, while some simply turned their noses up at such strangeness. Hermione had just spotted Lily greeting her parents and a taller, bony-faced, brooding girl when Sirius grabbed her hand and pulled her through the streaming crowd.

"They're right over there!" he hollered, a grin spreading across his face as he followed James. Hermione felt an odd feeling of happiness spread through her as she caught sight of Harry's grandparents.

Mr. Potter looked like an older version of James. His graying black hair was unstyled and ruffled and his hazel eyes shone with mirth as he hugged his only son, his rounded, gold-rimmed glasses reflecting the sunlight. A woman with strawberry blonde hair laughed at the pair, her brown eyes shimmering with happiness as she watched her husband and son embrace.

"Sirius, m'boy!" Mr. Potter yelled, pulling him in for a hug as well. It was then that Mrs. Potter noticed Hermione standing there shyly, pulling her trunk-laden trolley to her side.

"Is this the girl James has been telling us about? The one you're currently mooning over?" Mrs. Potter asked Sirius, a smirk on her face. Sirius uncharacteristically blushed, nodding.

"This is Hermione," he said, putting an arm the slightly pink-faced girl, "my girlfriend." Hermione's heart soared at the proud way in which Sirius said it, her blush deepening.

"It's great to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Potter," said a smiling Hermione, extending a hand.

"None of that Mr. and Mrs. Potter tosh!" exclaimed Mr. Potter, pulling Hermione in for a hug. "I'm John and she's Emma," he said by way of introduction. Hermione was surprised when Mrs. Potter hugged her as well.

"It's great to meet you dear. I'm happy that Sirius finally found a respectable girlfriend," said Emma, a satisfied smile on her face.

"I've had semi-respectable girlfriends!" protested Sirius. Even James snorted at that one.

"Last year, Sirius invited over a girl from school that seemed to be under the impression it was summer, judging by the lack of clothes she was wearing," laughed John, who had surreptitiously shrunken their trunks and tucked them into his pocket, leaving James to carry his owl cage.

"Yeah, laugh at my expense," grumbled Sirius as he and Hermione followed the Potters from the station.

* * *

Potter Manor was, to put it in simple terms, gorgeous. Hermione's heart ached for the Harry she had known, who had been raised in a broom cupboard while he could have lived like a prince. The house was only two stories high and looked normal from the outside, while inside it showed obvious traces of magnificent magic. The sheer size of the interior contradicted the appearance of the house; Hermione was sure she could spend a month in it but fail to explore it in its entirety.

After a quick bite to eat, Hermione set out to the nearby village with James and Sirius in tow, her light money bag hanging from her wrist. As they approached the quaint little town, Hermione found one thing that she disliked about the house: its location. Potter Manor was less than a mile away from Godric's Hollow, a village that Hermione wanted to steer clear of as much as she wanted to avoid Voldemort.

Godric's Hollow reminded her greatly of everything that could be lost if their plans to vanquish Voldemort failed. James and Lily would die only yards away from where they were currently standing in a little shop. Harry could easily become the Chosen One again. What if things found a way to happen even if she was there? These fears reverberated in Hermione's bones and chilled her to her core.

She absently shopped in the few Wizarding stores that Godric's Hollow housed, the voices of Sirius and James dull in her brain as she plucked random packages of sweets or books from the shelves, depending on the store. In the end, she got most of her friends their favorite kinds of candy and a NEWT study planner. After forcing James and Sirius to give her time to buy their presents, Hermione briskly walked to one of the last hidden Wizarding stores, where she found a book called _365 Wizarding Pranks: 1 For Everyday of the Year _for James and a set of Defense books for Sirius.

Hermione had walked out of the last shop with every intent of returning to the two boys, but her eyes caught the all too familiar kissing gate that led to the graveyard. It was as if her legs had a mind of their own; without really noticing, Hermione had wandered into the cemetery, her fingers skimming over the headstones as she passed. She spotted the marker with the names 'Kendra Dumbledore' and 'Ariana Dumbledore' carved into it and was automatically reminded of Harry as they searched for the grave of his parents on that snowy Christmas night.

Her heart seemed to be beating in her throat as she passed the grave of Ignotus Peverell, staring at the sign of the Deathly Hallows mournfully before moving on.

It was only seconds later that Hermione reached the spot where James and Lily had been buried, and would be buried only three years into the future if she failed. Her shopping bags fell from her hands as she knelt down on the cold, hard earth, the tears that she had been suppressing for weeks streaking down her cheeks, across her lips, and down her chin. She feebly banged her fist against the ground, falling onto her elbows before hugging her legs to her body.

Hermione faintly heard a voice shout her name, followed by heavy footfalls as two people ran to her in panic.

"Hermione?" She heard a gentle voice from beside her say, feeling his breath on her neck. "What wrong?" Slowly, Hermione rose her head from her knees, her nose slightly runny and eyes bloodshot. Sirius and James were kneeling next to her, wearing identical expressions of fear and worry. She immediately felt a pang of guilt in her chest for scaring them, but she couldn't stop crying despite her best efforts.

Wordlessly, Hermione latched her arms around the two boys, her head leaning on James' chest as the tears came on their own volition. Sirius' arms wrapped around her stomach as James' wound over her neck. She felt Sirius rocking her back and forth in a comforting motion, his fingers curling in her hair.

"I'm sorry," she said thickly, pulling away from them as she swiped at her tears. "I just started thinking about everything and got... scared," she admitted, sniffling. "I'm sorry."

"Stop saying you're sorry," said Sirius, entwined their fingers.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, 'Mione," added James, grabbing her other hand.

Hermione gave them a watery smile, wishing that she could fully believe them.

* * *

The next morning, Hermione awoke once more to noise that she could have done without.

"Merry Christmas Mimi!" James shouted in her ear as Sirius jumped on her bed like a five year old.

"Call me Mimi one more time and I'll snap your wand in two," she grumbled groggily, slowly opening her eyes.

"No need to be cranky," chided James. "Now come on, we have presents to open!"

"Fine, fine," she mumbled, almost pulling her arms out from under the comforter before stopping.

"Could you two children give me a moment to change?" she asked, keeping her voice innocent.

"Hey, we're not children! We're... man-boys," said Sirius, bouncing off of her bed.

Hermione snorted. "Because man-boys is much better."

The two Marauders rolled their eyes before bounding out of the guest room she was sleeping in, closing the door behind them with a snap.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she threw her covers back and swung her legs out of bed. Despite confessing to Sirius that she was tortured by Bellatrix, she hadn't divulged the full extent of her injuries. The _Mudblood_ cut that Bellatrix had carved into her skin that fateful night had yet to fade; Hermione was convinced that it would never fade. If Sirius ever saw it, there was no telling how he would react; his family was such a soft spot for him that she was sure that he'd do something he would regret.

Getting dressed quickly in another knitted jumper and pair of Muggle jeans, Hermione lightly padded down the grand staircase and into the expertly decorated sitting room.

"Finally! I thought you got lost or something," exclaimed Sirius. She couldn't help but giggle at the two teenage boys. Both were still pajama-clad and rocking back and forth in excitement.

"Where are your parents?" Hermione asked James, who was gazing at his pile of gifts in a state of awe.

"Still sleeping," he replied, waving a hand in the direction of the higher floors.

"What are we waiting for?" asked Sirius. "Let's start opening presents!"

Laughing, Hermione watched Sirius and James pounce on their gifts, opening the ones from Mr. and Mrs. Potter first.

"Hermione, those are yours," said Sirius, pointing at a smaller pile next to his as he tossed a scrap of wrapping paper over his shoulder.

Hermione's grin grew with every gift she opened. Mariella had bought her a package of Sugar Quills, Remus got her the same set of Defense books she had gotten Sirius, and Lily had thoughtfully sent her a special edition of Hogwarts, a History. It wasn't until she neatly tore open James' gift that Hermione was puzzled.

"Er, James... why did you get me a leash?" asked Hermione, holding up the red and gold dog leash.

James simply burst into laughter. "Stop opening your gifts for a second, Hermione. Sirius, how about you open the ones from the girls, Moony, and yours truly," suggested James, an almost evil grin on his face.

Groaning, Sirius picked up a heavy box and lugged it onto the couch, a grimace on his face. "'To Padfoot, From Mariella, Callie, Lily, Moony, and the lovable Prongs'. This is going to be horrible," he said, laughing slightly. Out from the box, he pulled dog treats, a dog grooming kit, dog bones, and a water bowl. Hermione and James were in stitches, clutching their sides at Sirius' momentarily shocked expression before it gave way to an impressed one.

"The girls don't know about me being an Animagus, do they?" he asked, examining a dog bone.

"No, of course not," choked out James. "I just compared you to a dog by chance the other day and the plan was hatched."

Sirius nodded approvingly. "I'm impressed."

"Hey, 'Mione, what did Cal get you?" asked James, a smirk on his face.

Hermione scoffed. "Judging by the look on your face, you already know," she said, dragging the small box towards her only to reveal a collar, a flimsy whip, and a note in Calenna's swirly handwriting.

"'Out of all of Sirius' doggy gifts, I expect the whip will be the only one to be of true value. Use it well. Happy Christmas. Love, Cal.' That's so inappropriate!" exclaimed Hermione while Sirius and James roared with laughter.

"Oh, Calenna. She's a clever one," remarked Sirius.

"Hey, Padfoot. Aren't you going to give Hermione her gift?" pointed out James.

"Oh yeah! Slipped my mind, i guess," he said, getting up from the sofa. "Come on, love." Outstretching a hand, Hermione allowed him to pull her up from the ground before following him.

"Where is this gift, exactly?" she asked as he led her upstairs.

"As hidden as it can be. I saw it in Diagon Alley yesterday," he said casually.

"Yesterday?" she exclaimed before slapping him on the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For being an idiot and sneaking out!" she said hotly, crossing her arms.

"Sorry," he apologized quickly. "I just... couldn't find a gift worthy enough for you in Hogsmeade or the village so we snuck out to Diagon Alley."

Hermione snorted. "Good line, but that doesn't work with me. You could have gotten me a lump of coal and I would have been fine with it, Sirius," she said fiercely.

"Well, I guess I could always take it back then," he said as he finally opened the door of the room next to Hermione's.

Hermione's eyes widened as she caught sight of a fiery orange ball of fluff curled up on the bed, his slightly squashed face the smallest that Hermione had ever seen it. "Crookshanks," she gasped, rushing at the mewling kitten.

"You already named him?" asked Sirius in amusement.

"How did you - where - Merlin," stammered Hermione as she held the baby kitten close to her. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Hermione, what's wrong now?" asked Sirius, all mirth gone.

"Sorry," she muttered, wiping at a fallen tear. "This is just unbelievable. Crookshanks was my cat back in school," she explained, smiling at Sirius. "I just can't believe you found him."

"You're joking," he said, amazed. Hermione shook her head, laughing. "I guess it was meant to be then," he muttered, pulling Hermione close to him.

"Yeah," she agreed faintly, leaning her head against his chest.

* * *

The day passed by in a flurry of food, singing, merriment, and laughter. Remus and the girls came over for Christmas dinner, all of them smiling with freshly fallen snow in their hair.

Calenna wasted no time in pulling the girls aside to relay how Christmas lunch was with Remus' parents.

"His parents were kind of wary at first, because Remus has never brought a girl home before," chattered Callie, giving Lily and Hermione a pointed glance. "But in the end, I think they liked me! I was really nervous at first but I eventually relaxed and was my normal ol' self!"

"Your normal ol' self?" asked Lily in shock. "That didn't scare them off?"

"Shut up, Lily! Okay, so maybe I was a more toned down version of myself... Well, whatever, they liked me," she said matter-of-factly.

At dinner, James' parents were surprised to learn that Lily was the girl that James had been 'obsessing over since first year', causing both James and Lily to flush uncontrollably. The Potters treated every single one of them as if they were their biological children; they made sure that each of them were well-fed, pushing seconds and thirds at whoever showed signs of slowing down, and asked each of them about their lives at Hogwarts. John and Emma reminded Hermione a lot of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, something that made her heart both soar and hurt.

After dinner, the seven of them retired to the sitting room, where they discussed Christmas presents and plans for the break. Hermione curled up on the sofa next to Sirius, Crookshanks sleeping in her lap. She made an effort to participate in the conversation, but her heart wasn't fully in it. It was getting increasingly difficult to spend time with the Marauders and her roommates when she felt like she was deliberately leading them into danger. She now understood how Harry felt when he constantly offered her and Ron a way out of the danger they were running into headlong.

"She keeps doing this. Hermione!" A voice called her from her thoughts. She could tell by their exasperated tone that they had been trying to get her attention for a while.

"Sorry," she said, exhaling. "I was just thinking."

"That's all you've been doing," said Lily, a sad smile on her face. "It's obvious you haven't been yourself lately."

They all nodded in agreement. Hermione was wringing her hands, trying to think of a way out of this confrontation, but failing. Finally, she sighed in acquiescence. "You're right. But I can't tell you why. It would rip every single one of you apart," she said morosely.

"Try us," said Remus. Hermione could tell he was trying to keep the frustration from his voice.

"Hermione, we're not children," James pointed out gently. "What you know may hurt us, but we'll deal."

"You have to stop thinking that you can deal with this on your own," added Sirius. He put a hand over hers in comfort.

"I made a vow to myself that I wouldn't tell any of you your fates," she replied lowly. However, Hermione could feel her resolve weakening. It hurt her to admit it, but each of them _did _have a point.

"Don't you think we deserve to know our fates?" asked Calenna in an uncharacteristically serious voice.

"We won't leave you if we don't like what we hear," assured Mariella. "We just want you to stop -"

"-beating yourself up over things you can, and _will_, change," finished Remus, his face taut in determination.

Hermione exhaled a rattling breath, her eyes trained on the wooden floor. Finally, she lifted her head, her chest rising and falling with every gulp of air she had to force into her lungs. Her stare focused on James and Lily, she finally answered. "Okay," she said in a small voice. "I'll tell you all about the future as I knew it."

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading! Please review with any thoughts/feelings/etc :)


	21. The Future as She Knew It

**A/N: **Hello! Let me start this author's note with giant cyberhug to every single person who reviewed last chapter (35 reviews!) – I thought my eyes were failing me. You are all AMAZING so thank you so much. This chapter is dedicated to my trusty proofreader TheOneAndOnlyGlitter, since her birthday is in two days. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DRE! Anyway, this chapter is ABSURDLY long, so I hope you all enjoy it! It took me a whopping 12 hours to write (from 6pm to 6am – yes, I am a monster). I no longer have any boundaries because my sleeping schedule is so out of wack so this author's note is a bit wonky, but just go with it! Anyway, enjoy, my lovely readers! :3

* * *

**Chapter 20 - The Future as She Knew It**

_Hermione exhaled a rattling breath, her eyes trained on the wooden floor. Finally, she lifted her head, her chest rising and falling with every gulp of air she had to force into her lungs. Her stare focused on James and Lily, she finally answered. "Okay," she said in a small voice. "I'll tell you all about the future as I knew it." _

The atmosphere of the room changed in less than a second. Although the holly and garland adorning the room still remained, and the fire still popped merrily in the grate, and Crookshanks purred deeply and contently in his sleep, the air became fraught with anticipation, trepidation, and fear.

Lily and James moved from their positions in front of the fire, settling themselves in front of the couch Mariella, Remus, and Calenna were tensely sitting on. Hermione shifted uncomfortably on the loveseat she was vacating with Sirius, her palms becoming cold and clammy despite the relative warmth of the room.

"I don't know where to start," confessed Hermione, her lower lip trembling slightly. Her brain was wrestling with the fact that she would have to be the deliverer of such terrible, heartwrenching, upsetting news. She knew that by the end of the night, feelings would be hurt, perspectives would be dramatically altered, and the way the others looked at life, trust, and the world would be forever changed. A part of her didn't want to confess purely because it would monumentally affect their innocence and the carefree attitudes they maintained despite the looming threat of Voldemort and the impending Horcrux hunt.

"Why don't you tell us about our lives as you knew them, and then build around that," suggested Remus, his amber eyes conveying his decision to accept anything that Hermione told them, no matter the severity or heartbreaking nature of her statement. He was visibly prepared for the worst.

"Okay," agreed Hermione, her voice still softer and smaller than her normal one. She gulped and cleared her throat lightly, mentally readying herself for the emotional plight that was surely going to befall not only her friends, but herself as well. Flipping Sirius' hand over so that their hands were intertwined, Hermione gazed at the expectant faces of her fellow Gryffindors before speaking.

"Mariella," she stated, her voice cracking slightly. The aforementioned girl look startled at being addressed, her full attention on Hermione. "You are the person I know the least about." Hermione expressed this apologetically, but Mariella looked positively relieved.

"That must be a good thing," joked Mariella quietly, trying to ease the tension. It worked slightly; James and Sirius cracked small smiles.

Hermione tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. "I was, however, familiar with your daughter, Lavender Brown."

At this, Lily and Calenna gasped in surprise, while Sirius and James smirked.

"Brown, eh? Looks like Ellie here sticks with her little boyfriend," Sirius teased, full-fledged grin on his face.

"Don't call me Ellie," she snapped, although she looked faintly pleased at the prospect of marrying her Hufflepuff boyfriend.

"Oh, I can't believe you and Darren got married," gushed Lily happily. "You two are adorable together!"

"Yeah, but what's with the color-related names? Your last name is Green, and then your future daughter's name is Lavender Brown?" asked James, laughing.

"There's nothing wrong with colorful names," defended Mariella.

Remus was the only one who spotted Hermione's somber expression and impatiently hushed the others. "Let Hermione continue," he demanded quietly, his eyes never straying from her face.

"Lavender was a Gryffindor in my year," continued Hermione softly. "I never really got on too well with her, but she was kind. Very enamored with Divination," she said, laughing to herself as she remembered those days, the days when Harry's biggest worries were Sirius Black, the Grim, and Professor Trelawney's ominous predictions of his approaching death.

"Why didn't you get along with her?" asked Mariella. She looked almost annoyed that Hermione wasn't friends with the daughter she hadn't even conceived, let alone thought about.

"I was never the... girly type. I never discussed hair or makeup or boys as much as the other girls. I mean, my best friends were both boys." Hermione explained this sadly, skewing her lips to the side slightly before continuing. "Lavender was definitely the girly type. Another reason was that the boy I fancied for five years dated her," said Hermione casually.

"You liked a bloke for _five years?_" Sirius asked in dismay, his eyes wide.

"That's not really a reason to dislike someone," muttered Mariella.

"_Five years?_" repeated Sirius.

"He must have been some guy," whistled James.

"_Five years?" _

"You're talking about your best friend Ron Weasley, right? I remember you saying that everyone expected the two of you to get married one day," speculated Lily.

"Was he fit?" asked Calenna interestedly.

"_Five years?_"

"Yes, five years!" Hermione interrupted. "And yes, I am talking about Ron," she said in a subdued tone, her mouth uplifted sadly. "It was quite the crush, now that I think about it."

"Did you two ever do anything about it?" asked Lily, her hair spilling in auburn waves over her shoulder as she leaned forward to peer at Hermione.

"We kissed, once, during the Battle of Hogwarts." At this, Sirius flinched his hand away, but Hermione stubbornly held on tighter. "But then I was blasted backward in time, and it was almost... forgotten. I treasured Ron's friendship more than I did any romantic possibilities we might have had, so my desire to be able to be his best friend again outweighed my other feelings. And besides, my unexpected liking of Sirius also had to do with forgetting my, er... other feelings," she explained, going a bit pink in the face. At this, Sirius grinned smugly.

"I often have that effect on girls," drawled Sirius arrogantly. Hermione hit him on the shoulder, perhaps with more force than necessary.

"Back to my daughter!" Mariella reminded them.

"Sorry," replied Hermione, the small smile she had on her face fading.

"Her fate is not exactly good, is it?" gleaned Mariella, frowning.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure what happened in the end," began Hermione slowly, the whole group now hanging on to her every word. "But, during the Battle of Hogwarts, Lavender was injured." Hermione screwed her eyes shut as she remembered Lavender's limp body falling to the ground like a rag doll. "She fell but she was still alive, because she was still moving a bit. But then Greyback -"

"Greyback?" questioned Remus sharply, his face paling. Hermione simply nodded ruefully.

"Who is he?" asked Calenna in a timid voice, her hands shaking as she held Remus'.

"He was the werewolf that bit me," he answered briskly, his eyes finding Mariella's. She, however, showed no signs of shock at Remus' words; only pure fear at her daughter getting bitten. Calenna grasped his hands so tight that Hermione saw her knuckles glow white.

"She was changed into a werewolf?" Mariella's voice trembled.

Hermione shook her head. "It wasn't the full moon, so he hadn't undergone his transformation. I managed to blast him away before he could bite her but I didn't have time to help her," she fretted tearfully.

"Don't blame yourself," said Mariella quietly.

"You did all you could," Sirius reassured her, hugging her body to his side.

"I could have done more," she argued.

"No," said Lily firmly. "I'm sure you were doing something that couldn't be abandoned."

Gently placing his hand on her chin, Sirius guided Hermione's face towards his. Tears welled up in her eyes as she peered at his determined face. "Hermione, you're going to have to stop being so stubborn. Just get it all out. I'm not saying we'll all take the information perfectly. We all might get upset or sad, but it won't be directed at you. It'll be directed at the information," he intoned coaxingly, staring at her unblinkingly.

"He's right, Hermione," said James, nodding his head assuringly when Hermione turned to him.

Remus' Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke up. "Hermione, the only way we will truly be able to fight is if we know what we're fighting for. If we know, it'll make our purpose all the more concrete." His voice shook slightly. Hermione knew that Remus was scared. Frightened to find out what opportunities life offered him as a werewolf, a shunned member of society. That was why, she thought, Remus was the most determined of the group. If Hermione said the others had shaky futures, he could only imagine the horrors that awaited someone like him.

Finally, Hermione nodded. "I'll continue with Callie," she said. Calenna, who was already sitting at the edge of her seat, quivered fearfully as she breathed deeply in preparation. Remus had lost some of his icy edge and allowed himself to draw Calenna nearer to him, burying his face in her dark hair.

"You end up marrying Paul Patil," confessed Hermione, biting her lip as she waited for the couple's reaction. Sirius pressed himself even closer to his side, trying to transfer some sort of comfort with his touch.

Remus paled considerably, staring forlornly at the girl in his arms. This was the girl he had nursed a crush on since sixth year, the girl who didn't bat an eye at his lycanthropy, the girl he had finally got only a few blissful weeks ago. What had happened that caused them to fall apart? Calenna had pulled her legs onto the settee and hugged them to her body, her dark eyes staring without truly seeing.

"I know what happened," Calenna finally spoke, her eyes pained. "I never told you my feelings."

"Well, I never told you mine then, either, so it's not your fault," said Remus firmly, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "Can you continue, Hermione?" he asked politely.

Hermione saw James and Lily eye Remus carefully, as if expecting him to burst into anger at any moment, but at no further sign of emotion from him, she continued, "You had a pair of twins in my year, Parvati and Padma Patil. I didn't know Padma too well, because she was a Ravenclaw and we didn't have many classes together. One thing I remember, though," she grinned to herself, feeling an odd urge to laugh, "was that Ron took her to this Christmas ball the school held in our fourth year. He was a terrible date."

"You don't sound mad at Ron dating Padma," pointed out Mariella, slightly affronted.

"They only went with each other as a last resort. Padma ran off to dance with another boy and Ron sat there broodingly with Harry," she laughed, a look of nostalgia settling on her face.

"Who did you go with?" asked James, a hint of a grin on his face. Sirius looked down at Hermione warily.

"Viktor Krum," she answered, believing that the name wouldn't arouse any excitement. However, James, Mariella, and Sirius looked at her in surprise.

"Is he related to Dragomir Krum? The Bulgarian Quidditch team's Seeker?" asked James curiously.

"Actually, yes. I did some research on him when I accepted his date -"

"You did research on your date?" interrupted Mariella, visibly suppressing a giggle.

"Well, he was a famous Quidditch player," grumbled Hermione.

"You dated a famous Quidditch player?" chorused the girls and Sirius, although they said it in varying tones of awe and outrage.

Hermione turned pink. "Only for a bit. Mostly he just watched me study. We did have a good time at the Ball though," she admitted thoughtfully.

Calenna lightly cleared her throat. "Oh, sorry!" said Hermione. "Well, Parvati I know a bit more about. She actually went to the Ball with Harry, but he was pretty much like Ron; brooding about the girl he didn't take to the Ball. Parvati was nice to me. Her and Lavender were best friends."

"Aw, your daughters were best mates, that's cute!" squealed James in imitation of Lily, who had opened her mouth at that exact moment.

"Shut it, James. I was actually going to say that Parvati briefly dated my son," muttered Lily, becoming uneasy when the others (excluding Remus and James), stared at her open-mouthedly.

"What?" she snapped, shifting awkwardly in her seat.

"_Your _son? I thought Harry was Prongs' son?" asked Sirius confusedly. At this, realization dawned on Calenna and Mariella's faces before grins broke out. Sirius, however, still looked befuddled.

Remus snorted. "Did you think that James had the baby on his own? Prongs is a good wizard but it takes two to tango, not one. I deduced that Lily must be the mother," he said simply.

Sirius turned to James in excitement, getting up to thump his best mate on the back. "Good job, Prongs! You knocked Lily up!"

"_Sirius!_" exclaimed Lily, her teeth grinding together. James' expression was a mixture smugness and joy.

Hermione thought it best to continue before Lily spotted the self-satisfied look on James' face. Pulling Sirius back to his seat beside her, Hermione resumed speech, "Parvati and Padma were also at the Battle of Hogwarts, but I don't think they were harmed." Calenna nodded in acceptance, relief settling over her face as she sent Hermione a close-lipped smile.

Hermione, however, was masking her terror. Telling Mariella and Calenna their futures was the easy part; their personal futures weren't marred by death, darkness, loneliness, or despair. The two girls went on to have seemingly pleasant marriages by the time they were in their early twenties with daughters as proof of their love. Hermione assumed that they married and had children young out of fear of Voldemort's growing power, but unlike James and Lily, they had survived his treacherous reign. They lived and continued to prosper, while the Potters were yet another casualty of the first war.

"Who's next Hermione?" asked Sirius curiously. To her chagrin, the others seemed to have relaxed. James' eyes were alight with mirth as he played with a huffing Lily's hair, Sirius was lounging on the loveseat as he walked his fingers up and down Hermione's arm, and Mariella was whispering something to Calenna. Remus, however, was shrewdly examining Hermione's face; worry creased her brow, sadness was still shining in her wide eyes, her skin was pallid, and her lips seemed to be perpetually pursed in thought.

"I'll tell James and Lily's story next, then Sirius, and then Remus." Hermione gulped fearfully; this was it. James and Lily, Sirius, and Remus would find out their terrible fates. Consoling herself with the fact that they were going to change everything didn't make the idea of telling them any less terrifying, but this was something that she now knew she had to do. "I just want to set down some ground rules before I start."

"Ground rules? They're needed?" asked Mariella confusedly.

"Yes," said Herione firmly. "Rule One: don't kill anyone."

There was an uncertain silence before James and Sirius burst into laughter. "What kind of rule is that?" choked out James.

"Trust me; with the things I'm about to tell you, committing murder will seem like a plausible idea," she answered darkly. James and Sirius immediately sobered.

"Any other rules, Hermione?" asked Lily, a note of worry in her voice now.

"Yeah. Try to remain calm is my other rule," responded Hermione, sending pointed glances at Sirius and Lily. "This news is less than pleasant."

The air in the room had become grim once more as everyone grappled with the fact that they should expect the worse. Calenna was back to clutching Remus' hand like a lifeline, only this time she had seized Mariella's shaking hand as well. James was whispering words of comfort into a stoic Lily's ear, while Sirius was rubbing Hermione's tense back, partially allaying her nerves.

Taking a breath, Hermione tentatively began speaking softly. "It all starts with James and Lily, of course. Almost immediately after graduating Hogwarts, the two of you marry." At that, all of them grinned at a sheepish Lily and a beaming James. "Everything was fine, initially. Voldemort was gaining power, but you two, Sirius, and Remus were all fighting against the cause. Not long after leaving school, you all joined a secret society, run by Dumbledore, called the Order of the Pheonix. You encountered Voldemort three times during your work for the Order."

"What?" asked James in disbelief. Lily's eyes had widened and the others gazed at them in open-mouthed horror. "Why? How do you even know that?"

"I'll get to that," answered Hermione ambiguously. With a light squeeze from Sirius, Hermione continued, "It was more than a year later that Lily became pregnant with Harry, in 1979." Lily smiled lightly at James, who planted a small kiss on her forehead. The pure love flowing between the two caused Hermione's heart to ache even further. How would they take the news of their deaths? However, she wasn't the only one to encounter an overwhelming flood of sadness. Remus had surmised that his best friends' relationship would have a tragic ending based solely on Hermione's visage; her expression would have been fitting at a funeral or at someone's deathbed. He felt anger mixed with the despair; who could have done such a thing to his friends?

"When you were pregnant... there was a prophecy made." At this, James and Lily had halted their tender exchange, and Hermione felt as if her waist would surely be bruised due to Sirius' tightened hold of her. Her heart hammering against her rib cage, Hermione pushed on, "Harry only told me it once, so I might not know it completely accurately," she said in a tiny voice. However, Hermione knew the prophecy like the back of her hand. "_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. The Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..._"

Silence rang eerily in the room as the gravity of the prophecy permeated their brains. Remus and Lily were the first to truly comprehend what the prophecy entailed, causing Remus to blanch significantly and Lily to clap her hands to her mouth, tears building in the corners of her eyes. The rest of them came to the same realization only seconds later, and the utter quietness of the room had never seemed so crippling.

Lily was the first to speak. "Are you saying," she began, her voice trembling, "that my son was predicted to be the sole person who could defeat Voldemort?"

At these words, James looked stricken, but he tried his utmost to break the tension that had settled within everyone. "I always knew that I would produce a badass kid," he said, forcing a laugh. A sympathetic grin broke across Sirius' face, but it vanished within seconds.

"If everything goes to plan, Harry won't be the Chosen One that he once was," intoned Remus forcefully, a steely glint in his amber eyes. The others seemed to regain movement in their limbs as well as the ability to think properly as they nodded in agreement, but Hermione sent him a look of utter bewilderment.

"How did you know that they called Harry the Chosen One?" she asked confusedly, scanning her mind for a time she might have slipped out that small tidbit of information.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "It seemed like a fitting thing to call him."

Hermione nodded absently at the answer, still lost in thought when Sirius nudged her as if to remind her that there was still a story to tell. "Well, Professor Trelawney, who was the Divination professor at the school, delivered the prophecy in the presence of Professor Dumbledore, who then in turn informed Lily and James of its contents. Lord Voldemort had been enlightened as to the prophecy's nature, so it was imperative that the two of you were ushered into hiding."

"How did Voldemort find out about the prophecy?" asked Sirius, looking down at Hermione pensively. The brunette witch averted her eyes. Should she reveal that Snape was the one who recounted the prophecy to Voldemort? Or would it be more intelligent to lie and say that she didn't know how he had found out?

Ultimately, Hermione thought it best not to tell them. Not only would it complicate matters, but it would spark unnecessary animosity towards Snape. She had counted herself as lucky that the Marauders weren't tormenting Snape as often as she had heard they did (although she inferred that this was for Lily's benefit). The last thing she desired to do was give James or Sirius a reason to resume their bullying.

"A Death Eater was listening at the door, and only heard a portion of it. But he told Voldemort what he heard, and Voldemort had marked Harry as his next victim," said Hermione waveringly.

The girls gasped, Remus seemed to be made of stone, Sirius buried his head in the crook of Hermione's neck, and James' face was frozen in a wide-eyed expression.

"Don't say it like that, Hermione," said Calenna, shivering, burrowing into Remus' stiff embrace.

Lily was shaking her head, the furrowing of her brow deepening ash she exhaled heavily. "I can't believe that... he marked my son for death. He was just a baby! What was a _baby_ going to do to the Darkest wizard ever to exist?" she asked desperately, appealing to Hermione for a reassuring answer.

However, James was the one to respond. "'_H__e will have power the Dark Lord knows not,'_" he quoted the prophecy, frowning.

"What happened next, Hermione?" asked Sirius, his voice muffled as he spoke from Hermione's neck. She knew that his intent was to cajole her to reveal everything without cease so that the pain of her words would be inflicted quickly, but she could feel his resolve cracking; he _didn't _want to know. He scared of her next words, and it was with a squeezing heart that she felt that he already knew what was going to happen.

But with a partly stiff but supportive nod from Remus and a glance into Mariella's sparkling green eyes, Hermione knew that she had no choice but to push on. Taking what seemed to be her dozenth fruitless breath that night, Hermione let a deluge of words burst forth."The house you were living in was in Godric's Hollow, less than a mile from here, in the village. It was protected by an ancient spell called the Fidelius Charm, in which a Secret Keeper allows the particular secret to be implanted into his or her soul. So, essentially, he or she is the only person that would be able to divulge the secret."

"No," croaked Remus suddenly, his eyes bloodshot. Hermione, and everyone in the room for that matter, had never seen Remus so unraveled. His hands were visibly quaking and his face was tortured as he adamantly shook his head, refusing to believe that what Hermione had already began implying was true. Calenna fervently pulled him closer to her, but her puzzled face revealed that she didn't know how or why she had to console him.

"Moony," began James tentatively, swiftly turning around in his position in front of the couch so that he was kneeling in front of his shaking friend, but Remus refused to meet his desperate gaze. Lily cautiously placed a hand on James' shoulder and steered back down to his former seat. "Let Hermione continue," she suggested softly, her eyes never leaving Hermione's despair ridden ones.

"She's right, Prongs," agreed Sirius quietly, gulping nervously. His insides were churning unpleasantly with fear, but he had to attempt to remain strong for his friends. Turning to Hermione, Sirius swooped his head down the small distance and kissed the shell of her ear. The show of affection and support only made her urge to sob helplessly increase. The walls she had been painfully attempting to construct around her emotions were crumbling with a simple kiss from Sirius, and she had no way of halting them.

"James and Lily put their trust in the wrong person," she said, her voice cracking under the emotional strain. "He was a spy. He told Voldemort the address of the house." Remus, Calenna, and Mariella had formed a huddle on the sofa, the lycanthrope shaking even more then before while Calenna buried her head in his hair, tears dripping steadily into it. Lily was feverishly twisting her long red hair in her hands, her eyes blank as James, breathing huffily, hugged her to his side, trying not to lose himself to the sadness threatening to consume him.

"No, no, no, no, no," chanted Sirius weakly against Hermione's neck, which was now slick with warm liquid that she knew to be Sirius' tears.

It was through tears of her own that Hermione finished the story. "On Halloween of 1981, Voldemort arrived at your home. All of the defenses were down, and neither of you suspected that he would have found out where you were hiding. James tried to fight him, but he didn't have a wand on him. Voldemort... he killed James," she sobbed, but she was resolute in her aim to give them hope, to show them that Harry _lived_, to stress to them that they _will _change everything so that this never had to happen. "Then he went upstairs to where Lily was shielding Harry. Voldemort... he gave her an option: let him kill Harry but spare her life, or kill both of them. Lily... you refused."

Sirius clutched Hermione closer to him, his body shaking almost terrifyingly. Hermione kissed his head briefly, trying to infuse some sort of comfort in him, but she knew it was fruitless. "He killed Lily, but... he couldn't kill Harry. Lily, your love for Harry protected him. It was strong enough to oppose Voldemort's powers. When he cast the Killing Curse, it rebounded upon Voldemort, leaving him as a ghost of himself and Harry with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead."

The scene that met Hermione's eyes when she glanced up from Sirius was heart shattering. James had finally succumbed to sobs and was leaning heavily on Lily, his body shivering with the effort. He could take himself dying, but his precious Lily meeting the same tragic end was almost too much to bear. Not only that, but his young son was forced to grow up without his parents.

Lily, however, seemed averse to the sorrow that plagued the others in the room. Her penetrating green stare was focused thoughtfully on the fire. She was visibly distraught, but her face was dry and determined. Everyone was shocked when she spoke. "Who was our Secret Keeper, Hermione?" she questioned calmly, her gaze now directed unblinkingly on Hermione.

At this, Remus lifted his head. "I was wondering that, too," he said hoarsely.

"You were still listening even after you figured out what happened to them, Moony?" asked Sirius dryly, his nose audibly stuffy.

Remus nodded somberly, his jaw set. Lily's query seemed to have sparked a new feeling within them; Hermione could easily discern that this new emotion evoked was, unfortunately, determination. And it wasn't the determination she had hoped to stir. It was the determination to punish the person who had sold James and Lily to Voldemort, a person whom the couple had apparently trusted whole-heartedly.

"Are you going to tell us, Hermione?" asked James gruffly, atttempting to wipe his face covertly.

They all stared expectantly at Hermione, tear stained but ready to fight if need be. "If I tell you, every single one of you would break my only two rules," she said lowly. "You will want to hurt this person, and I can't exactly blame you, but he hasn't done anything yet."

"So it's a 'he', huh?" said Mariella suddenly. Hermione resisted the urge to bang her head on the floor, and instead exhaled roughly.

"I'm just a bit confused," started Calenna slowly, her arm still encircling Remus. "When you said that James and Lily named a Secret Keeper, I assumed that they would have chosen Sirius or Remus. Who else would they... trust..." she trailed off, her eyes becoming wide with realization.

Mariella gasped. "No, Hermione, he didn't," she begged, disblief and horror etched into every feature. Hermione could only nod her head tearfully, wishing that she could change it so that they never had these fates in the first place.

Hermione knew that Sirius realized what the girls were thinking when his arms suddenly dropped from around her and he was on his feet. "He couldn't have," he said in a dangerously calm voice. He rapidly turned to his girlfriend in a flurry of anger. "Tell me what I'm thinking is wrong!" he yelled, eyes wild. Hermione winced, biting the inside of her mouth as she suppressed the onslaught of more tears, her insides turning cold. _Sirius is surely going to hate me for this_, she thought with a pang in her chest, her eyebrows knitting together in her anguish.

James had gotten up as well, gripping Sirius' shoulder. "Calm down, Padfoot. Don't yell at Hermione," he said quietly and firmly, his face still pale. Remus grasped Sirius' other arm in silence.

Sirius' head turned to James, his face so tortured and torn that it almost hurt Hermione to look at. His voice had returned to its eerie composure when he spoke. "Wormtail was your Secret Keeper."

"Merlin, no," Lily breathed as James fervently shook his head. "Why didn't we name Sirius or Remus our Secret Keeper, Hermione?" she asked shakily.

"Sirius thought it'd be too obvious if he was the Secret Keeper," answered Hermione in an unsturdy tone.

"So it's all _my _blasted fault that James and Lily died!" he shouted, aiming a frustrated kick at a chair. Calenna and Mariella started in alarm, while Remus and James tried to restrain him.

Lily gave a strangled yell. "Of course it wasn't your fault, Sirius!"

"No, no, no, there must have been a mistake! Maybe he was under the Imperius Curse! Or he could have been Confunded! Yeah!" insisted James hopelessly, leaving his post by Sirius to pace frantically by the hearth. Lily hastened over to him on shaky legs, seizing his arm to stop him.

Hermione gazed desperately at Sirius, willing him to look at her. "I'm so sorry, Sirius," she whispered, begging him with eyes that refused to return the look.

"I need some air," he said abruptly, storming from the room before anyone could object.

Hermione made to get up, but Remus, Calenna, and Mariella swarmed around, blocking her path. Crookshanks, who had slept through the whole ordeal, woke up with a spit and a hiss before prancing off her lap, making a haughty beeline to the door Sirius had just exited from.

Calenna and Mariella had sat on either side of her, the former wasting no time in drawing her closer.

"It's all going to be okay, Hermione," she insisted, her voice muffled by Hermione's voluminous hair. "Sirius will be okay, too." Hermione leaned her chin on Calenna's shoulder in an attempt to stop it from quivering. Feeling a warm hand on her back, she turned to see Remus, his eyes piercingly amber in the glow of the fire. Without thinking, Hermione stood up and threw her arms around the tall boy, unleashing her sobs on his sweater.

"Shh, shh, everything will be fine. They know to never trust Peter again," he assured her steadfastly, leaning his head on hers as he returned the hug.

Hermione felt Calenna rubbing her back lightly and Mariella patting her head, enduring another upsurge of emotion at the affection her friends still had for her despite what she had told them. "What if it finds a way to happen again? Despite all of our efforts, what if Voldemort still kills James and Lily and Harry is left an orphan once more?" she choked out, divulging all of her fears to the three of them.

"It _won't_ happen again," he persisted with aplomb. "You've already changed so much. Calenna and I are together when originally our relationship never occurred, you and Sirius are dating, and we have destroyed a Horcrux."

"Hermione, the point of this was to give us something to more... personal to fight for. This is as personal as it gets," noted Calenna, smiling gloomily.

"We will defeat Voldemort if its the last thing we ever do," vowed Remus adamantly.

"Don't say it like that," sighed Hermione. "I don't want any of you to die for this."

"We're prepared to die if it means vanquishing Voldemort," said Mariella solemnly.

"Stupid Gryffindors with your stupid bravery," muttered Hermione irritably.

"You're a Gryffindor too, you numpty," pointed out Calenna, knocking Hermione on the shoulder. "Now stop hugging my boyfriend!"

Hermione quickly removed herself from Remus' warm embrace, sending him a sheepish smile. "No need to look embarrassed, Hermione," assured Remus with a smile, although his skin still looked a bit pasty with nerves. "Callie is just easily jealous."

"Am not!" she scoffed, affronted. "Do I get jealous easily?" she asked Mariella, who snorted.

"Very easily. Once Remus picked up a pencil for me and you accused him of trying to look up my skirt! And that was _before _you started dating!" laughed Mariella. The sound sounded wholly unfamiliar in the room.

"I'm going to go check up on Sirius," mumbled Hermione casually, hoping that the three friends were distracted with their light frivolity.

"Hermione," said Remus warningly, catching her arm as she tried to slip by. "He's not exactly approachable when he gets enraged."

"It's my fault he's so upset, so I should be the one he yells at," she said quietly, forcing a smile on her face as she lightly tugged her arm from Remus' grasp and walked towards the door.

"'Mione, maybe I should go," suggested James from the fireside, where he and Lily had been consoling each other.

With an almost imperceptible shake of the head and a faint, sad smile, Hermione left the room and walked the journey to Sirius' bedroom with a heavy heart. She knew that Sirius had an unpredictable temper, so it wasn't surprising that he reacted this way. She just wished he... well, hadn't.

The worn but well-cared-for carpet masked the sound of her feet as she stopped in front of his door, hearing nothing but silence from within its confines. Her body trembling, Hermione fastened a hand around the knob and twisted before she could squander her courage.

The sight her eyes met caused yet another wave of sorrow to bowl her over. Sirius sat hunched over on his bed, his hand balled into a fist as the other groped at his disheveled raven hair. The twin holes in the wall made it clear that they had suffered his wrath in his state of hurt.

"Oh, Sirius," she whimpered into her clenched hand, his head snapping up at the sound of her voice.

"Hermione, don't cry," he said desperately, rushing over to her. "I'm such an asshole, Hermione, why don't you hate me? I yelled at you when all you did was tell us what we wanted to hear!"

She eyed him in shock. Sirius Black; apologizing for his wrongs? The Sirius she knew when she was still attending Hogwarts with Harry was hardened by his tenure in Azkaban, easily angered, and never truly at ease. Downstairs, she had seen a glimpse of that Sirius; he was upset and had been unable to restrain it, and for the second time in this time Hermione had felt scared of him.

"I- I don't know-" she stammered confusedly. _How had he managed to render me speechless?, _she frustratedly asked herself.

"Shh," he said, tentatively pulling her closer to him as if he was scared she would reject him. In a physical effort to show him that she wasn't angry – since her mouth didn't seem to want to work – Hermione latched onto him, noting in relief that she didn't feel the compulsion to cry again.

"I don't hate you, Sirius, and I don't think I ever could," she managed to get out, her arms gripping his back.

"I'm sorry," he said, drawing away slightly to look her in the eye. "I really am. I just felt -" he stopped speaking, shaking his head.

"Betrayed," she finished sadly. He nodded needlessly.

"I just can't. Bloody. Believe. He would do that," he ground out, inhaling sharply. "We trusted him! James obviously trusted him with his damn life!" he yelled, pulling away from Hermione to walk angrily to his desk, kicking the chair.

"Sirius, stop!" shouted Hermione, quickly catching his hand as he swung at the wall again. "Oh my God, Sirius, your hand is broken."

"I know that," he mumbled, wincing as she examined it.

"I can fix it," she muttered, reaching for Sirius' wand on the desk without dropping his bloody and bruised hand.

"Of course you know how to fix it," he snorted.

Glaring at him briefly, she used her wand to painfully set his bones back into place before healing the wounds soundlessly.

"If you go punching walls again, I'll punch _you._ Deal?" she asked, interwining their fingers.

"Fine," he grumbled, leaning down to capture her lips tenderly, his eyes screwing shut as she gently guided his hips towards hers. He acutely felt the brush of her tearlogged lashes on his cheek and had only just wove a hand in her sweet smelling hair before she drew away gently, leaning her forehead against his.

"Please tell me that that was the worst of what happens to us," he asked quietly, unable to suppress the begging note in his voice. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost James or Lily, and the thought of losing Remus as well tore at his heart.

"I wish I could, but I can't," she answered softly, her voice breaking on the last word.

"We should go back down," he suggested ruefully. "So we can finish this... storytelling tonight rather than tomorrow."

"Storytelling?" she asked, crinkling her nose. "But this isn't a story. It happened."

"Well, it's not going to happen again, so to me, this is all a story."

* * *

Hermione and Sirius entered the room silently, hands linked tightly.

"We were wondering when you two would get back," greeted James. They had all returned to their original positions; they, too, had discerned that there was more to the events, and knew that Hermione would resume recanting them.

"I said that you two were having make up -," began Calenna cheekily, raising an eyebrow mischievously.

"_Calenna!_"

Hermione reddened, but Sirius grinned as he steered her to the loveseat. "_I_ insisted on putting your whip to good use, but Hermione wasn't having it," he sighed wearily to Calenna, shaking his head in mock shame.

"Shut it," snapped Hermione, still blushing. "Now, there's more terrible things to come," she said seriously. The room had been sapped of its slight playfulness once more at Hermione's words.

"Is it anything that will cause us all to lose it again?" asked James, daring to hope that it wasn't as bad as Hermione was insinuating. Lily patted his hand soothingly.

Hermione smiled strainedly. "It's quite bad," she admitted, grabbing Sirius' hand.

"You should start then, Hermione," suggested Remus courteously.

"Continue from where James and I died," intoned Lily quietly. Everyone winced, but Hermione listened and agreed.

"Well, after Voldemort was blasted into mere dust and spirit, Harry was sent to live with your sister, her husband, and their son." At this, Lily seemingly exploded.

"_My sister? _Of all people, my sister! And her despicable boyfriend, well, husband apparently. She despises anything to do with magic!" she huffed in disbelief.

"They were his only living relatives," said Hermione softly. Lily froze, and James paused in his attempts to calm his girlfriend.

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly. Sirius was looking at James in horror, and Remus and the girls were shaking their heads, realizing what that meant.

"I'm sorry! I never really thought about," she apologized mournfully, rubbing her temples angrily. How could she have forgotten that James' parents had obviously died sometime between then and now? How about Lily's? She mentally berated herself harshly, cursing her stupidity. "Oh, James! Lily! I really am sorry for being so painfully stupid! It was completely insensitive of me; it should have the first thing I remembered. Ugh, I am - "

At this, James managed a snort through his visible pain at the thought of losing his parents. "You're not stupid, Hermione. Far from it, actually."

"And it shouldn't have been the first thing on your mind, Hermione," persisted Lily. "We will protect them now."

The others nodded, giving Hermione soothing smiles. Sirius squeezed her to his side. "Calm down, love," he whispered in her ear. "Get on with the story."

Hermione shivered at the prospect of telling the others of Sirius' arrest. The only thing she was frightened of that surpassed that fear was the realization that she would have to speak of Sirius' death, as well as Remus' death.

"After you two... well, you know what happened. Anyway, afterwards, Sirius was a bit... distraught," she began.

"I have a feeling distraught isn't a massive enough word," muttered Remus to himself.

"He went after Wormtail, but Peter... he blew up the street behind him, killing every Muggle within a 20 yard radius. He pretended that Sirius had cast the spell, cut off his finger to convince the Ministry that he had been blown to bits in the explosion, and then transformed into a rat," she said quickly, avoiding Sirius' eyes.

"That bloody traitor." Hermione was surprised that the snarl had come from Lily, who was staring at Sirius as if he was a dead man walking.

"Lily, why are you looking at me like that?" asked Sirius, laughing weakly and without humor.

Lily shook her head, opening her mouth soundlessly before spluttering out, "He framed you! He made it seem so that _you_ killed everyone, that _you_ were Voldemort's spy! He went to Azkaban didn't he, Hermione?"

Everyone's faces swiveled in Hermione's direction. Biting her lip, the girl did the only thing she thought appropriate to do, and nodded before throwing her full weight on Sirius, repeating, "I'm so sorry, Sirius," into his chest like a mantra. Sirius was unmoving, his shock written across his face. James seemed to be at a loss for words as he gazed at his best mate.

Remus shook with rage, compelling Calenna and Mariella to anchor him down to the couch by his wrists. "Hermione, _please _tell me they gave him a trial."

Lifting her head from Sirius, she brokenly shook her head. "He was sentenced to life in Azkaban without a trial," she admitted, her voice almost a whisper.

For the second time that hour, the room seemed to explode in fury.

"You're joking," spat out James disgustedly.

"That's impossible," agreed Mariella, enraged.

"_Without a trial?_" cried Lily, her hands pulling at her hair madly.

Calenna's anger didn't seem to translate well into words as she stammered unintelligibly, compelling Remus to hold his girlfriend to his chest.

"It's okay," Sirius said quickly, immediately hushing the sputters of rage from his friends. "It hasn't happened and it _won't_ happen. No need to get your knickers in a twist."

"But Wormtail -"

"Wormtail, Lily, is a traitorous git that we won't ever trust again," said Sirius, his composure shocking the room into silence. "Hermione, would you please continue?"

Sirius' cool attitude had unsettled her, but Hermione followed his advice anyway. "Well, in my third year, twelve years later, you break out of Azkaban."

"_What?_"

"Did you say he_ broke out_ of Azkaban?"

"Did someone just Confund Hermione when I wasn't looking?"

"Even _I'm_ having difficulty understanding how I did it."

Hermione cut off their confused comments impatiently. "Dementors can't sense an animal's feelings as acutely as a human's, so Sirius transformed into a dog, and, being deathly emaciated, managed to slip through the bars and escape."

James and Remus gaped at their friend in wonder, but Lily, Calenna, and Mariella were eyeing him shrewdly for another reason.

"You're an Animagus?" asked Lily flabbergastedly, pointing a finger at him in disbelief.

"Peter is too, then? Because you said he transformed into a rat but then I got sidetracked by the whole 'Sirius sent to Azkaban' charade," mused Calenna.

Hermione gasped. "I'm sorry," she said faintly to the two Animagi.

James waved a hand. "They were bound to find out anyway," he said, Sirius nodding in agreement.

"James Potter, are you telling me you're an Animagus too?" spat out Lily.

"Uh, yeah Lily," he said confusedly. "Is that a problem?"

"You not telling me is the problem! You're unregistered! It's illegal!" she yelled.

Remus, sensing that trouble was brewing within the redhead, valiantly stepped in. "Lily, if there's anyone you should blame, it's me," he said calmly. "They only became Animagi so they could accompany safely during the full moon."

Lily's eyes softened as she listened to Remus before she nodded. "Okay, that's fine I suppose," she said, appearing satisfied with the answer.

James, however, spluttered. "I try to explain and you shoot me down! But Moony -"

"You're already in my bad books, Potter, so don't push it! Continue, Hermione," Lily requested stiffly.

Hermione smiled vaguely at the quarreling pair before obliging. "Harry was told that Sirius broke out of Azkaban to... well, kill him."

"Sirius would never -"

"James, we _know _that Sirius would never want to do such a thing! Stop interrupting!" snapped Lily.

Hermione continued as if the interruption never occurred. "Of course, he was really hunting down Wormtail, but Harry didn't know that. Then, near the end of our third year, we finally had our run-in with Sirius," she smiled lightly at her boyfriend, allowing him to pull her closer. "He didn't exactly make himself appear innocent."

"How so, love?" he asked, bewildered.

"Well, in your dog form, you attacked Ron because he, unknowingly, had been keeping Wormtail as a pet for most of his life and happened to be carrying him at that very moment."

James cringed. "Poor kid, finding out that his pet rat is a murderer."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Sirius broke Ron's leg -"

"Can't say I'm too upset about that."

"Sirius! You were an old fart when Hermione was fourteen!" exclaimed Calenna.

"You know what? I resent being called an old fart. I was only in my thirties, Cal. I'm pretty sure I was still suave," said Sirius, slightly affronted.

"Back to the main point," interrupted Remus, a single look quelling the grumbling pair.

"Well, Sirius dragged Ron and Wormtail into the Whomping Willow, leaving a petrified Harry and I. Crookshanks stopped the ravaging tree, allowing the two of us to slip into the tunnel leading to the Shrieking Shack."

"And you call _us _crazy Gryffindors. You and Harry followed a supposed mass murderer into a _tree_," scoffed Mariella.

"Well, he took our best friend," said Hermione defensively.

Sirius smiled. "Hermione, you would save bloody Voldemort if he went into the Willow," he laughed, kissing her head.

"That may be a bit too far," said Hermione, blushing slightly. "Anyway, we were all convinced that you were going to kill Harry, so in our brains that equated to you killing Ron and I as well. But in the end, Professor Lupin swooped in to convince us of your innocence -"

Remus let out an uncharacteristic giggle, elicting a snort from James and a number of odd looks from the others. "Excited, Moony?"

The lycanthrope flushed. "I just think it'd be quite nice to be a professor."

Calenna kissed his cheek, cooing, "I think you'd be a great professor, Remy."

"Awwwww," the Marauders, Lily, and Mariella chorused.

"Shut up," muttered Remus. "You were saying Hermione?"

"Like I said, Remus saved the day. Sirius and Remus mananged to persuade Ron to hand over Wormtail, thus revealing him as an Animagus. We thought it'd all be okay after that," mused Hermione pensively. "But it wasn't. Everything went wrong. It was the full moon that night, so Remus transformed." Before Remus could manage more than a stricken expression, Hermione assured him, "You didn't bite anyone. Sirius got hurt but he was okay in the end. It was the dementors that caused the real trouble."

Sirius shuddered slightly. "I can't imagine having to spend 12 years with those things," he muttered.

The others regarded him silently, each of them mentally vowing to keep Sirius out of that wretched place.

"Peter managed to escape," continued Hermione, ignoring the pained gasps of her friends. "And then the dementors swarmed upon us. Sirius was weak after fighting off Remus, so he was unconscious. I passed out soon after, but Harry tried to fend them off with a Patronus Charm. It didn't work because he was under so much pressure and he was scared, but he manages to combat them later."

"Later?" asked Lily, befuddled.

"I'll get there," Hermione assured her. "We were brought to the hospital wing, but Sirius was locked in the tallest tower... where he was set to receive the Dementor's kiss, _but_ we save him so don't get feisty," said Hermione quickly.

"How do you possibly pull that one off?" asked James, visibly doubting her.

She rolled her eyes. "It wasn't easy, but we got it done. Harry and I used a time-turner to go back in time, save a hippogriff set to execution, and then wait by the lake where the dementors were set to arrive. This version of Harry, rather than the one by the lake, uses his Patronus to banish the dementors."

Lily gazed at her in thinly masked shock. "Harry cast a corporeal Patronus at age 13?" she asked, barely suppressing a grin.

"Yeah. Harry was an amazing wizard," said Hermione warmly, returning Lily's smile.

James laughed. "Looks like our kid gets your smarts, Lily," he jibed playfully, kissing her hair.

"You're smart too, James," she said, blushing.

"How did you save Sirius?" asked Remus.

"Harry and I rode the hippogriff to the tower and Sirius was able to escape," answered Hermione. "From then on, Sirius was a sort of father figure for Harry."

"Poor kid," said James sadly. "Sirius is _not_ a good role model."

"Hey!" shouted Sirius, narrowing his grey eyes. "I'm a great role model!"

"We're never going to go to bed tonight if you don't let Hermione finish telling us the damn thing," hissed Lily.

Hermione shot Lily an appreciative smile that slid cleanly off of her face as she thought of what was to come. "Everything just gets dark from here," she admitted, frowning.

"I die or something, don't I?" Sirius joked in the silence.

Hermione looked up sharply, her expressive brown eyes troubled. "That's exactly what happens, Sirius," she breathed, tears threatening to well up.

Hermione closed her eyes, refusing to look at any of them in the unnerving quiet that followed her confession.

Sirius finally spoke. "When?" he inquired in a restrained voice, his mouth dry.

"In Harry's fifth year. Voldemort returned at the end of our fourth year. There was... a connection between Voldemort and Harry's minds. He figured out how to employ this link, and fooled Harry into thinking that he had captured you. Harry, Ron, Ron's sister Ginny, our friends Neville and Luna, and I flew to the Ministry of Magic and broke into the Department of Mysteries. It was a trap, of course, but Harry couldn't risk not going if the only person he viewed as a parent was possibly hurt, or worse." Her voice was thick with emotion. Her eyes were still shut, but she could hear Lily's muffled sobbing, Calenna whispering rapidly to Remus, and Sirius' labored breathing against her hair.

"Why the Department of Mysteries?" questioned Mariella tremulously.

"It was where the prophecy was. Voldemort wanted to hear the whole thing, but the only way to take it would be if Harry or him touched it," she answered.

"So he lured Harry there, that despicable bastard," sneered James.

"Harry did take it down from the shelf, and that's when the Death Eaters revealed themselves. We fought, but I mean, we were still underage, with a limited knowledge of spells, while they had a plethora of Dark spells in their arsenal. I... wasn't able to witness Sirius' death -"

"That's a good thing," Sirius interrupted gruffly. "I wouldn't want you to see me die."

"That's awfully selfless of you, but I've seen many people die," sniffed Hermione, still stubbornly refusing to look at anyone.

"Who dealt the fatal blow?" he asked simply, ignoring her statement.

The careless way that he asked it made Hermione seethe, but she kept her anger under a tight lid, knowing that his nonchalant manner was his only defensive mechanism against fear.

"Bellatrix."

The response was instanteous, compelling Hermione to finally reopen her lids. "That _cow_ killed Padfoot?" spat James, his tone irate.

"But she's your cousin!" sputtered a partially recovered Lily, her nostrils flaring white.

Mariella was irefully mumbling a string of obscenities under her breath, seemingly impervious to the indignant shouts from her friends.

"That's just despicable," grumbled Calenna, hastily wiping a tear from her cheek.

"I knew she hated you, Padfoot, but that's just... horrendous," said Remus softly, his elbows supported by his knees as he dropped his head in his hands.

"I always figured that my deranged cousin would kill me," Sirius informed, perplexing them into abrupt muteness once more. "She hates me more than my parents and brother combined." Smiling pleasantly at their stupefied faces, Sirius looked down at Hermione, who looked vaguely worried. "Why don't you continue with Remus, love?"

Jostling back to reality, Hermione shunted her concerned thoughts aside and nodded. "I first met Remus, as you know, when he was my DADA professor in my third year." This triggered a collective laugh from the friends as Remus reddened again, sheepish smile adorning his face.

"You were the best DADA professor we ever had," proclaimed Hermione.

"Now you're just laying it on thick," scoffed James.

"I'm definitely not. We had the _worst_ Defense teachers. Professor Lupin was the only one who actually knew what he was doing," she smiled, beaming. "Unfortunately, due to some underhanded circumstances, Remus resigned. The news of his lycanthropy... slipped out."

"No!" gasped Calenna and James.

"That's _not_ a reason to fire someone," demeaned Lily with a indignant head shake. Sirius simply growled his opinion.

"It's a plausible reason for me to resign," mused Remus. "I suppose parents didn't want me to endanger their children."

"You? Endanger their childen? You wouldn't hurt a fly!" shouted James.

"Not everyone sees my kind the way you all do, Prongs," answered Remus thoughtfully. "Go on, Hermione," he said, effectively ending their incensed mutterings.

"Wait," began Sirius, interrupting before Hermione could even open her mouth. "What happened to Moony when I was in Azkaban?"

"I – I never thought to ask him," stammered Hermione shamefully.

"I imagine I found something to occupy my time," said Remus shrewdly, shifting uncomfortably at the attention.

"But Padfoot raises a valid point, Moony," agreed James. "Lily and I were gone, you and Cal weren't dating, and Padfoot was in Azkaban. So where were you?"

"I suppose I -"

"Damnit, Remus, stop downplaying it!" yelled Sirius, standing up from his seat. "You were alone! We left you with no one!"

"It wasn't your fault. It was no one but Peter and Voldemort's fault." He emphasized his words with a bang on the arm of the sofa. "Sit down, Sirius."

"Don't tell me what to do, Remus!"

"Merlin, would you two shut up!" shouted Lily, jumping up from the ground, using her body as a barrier between the two teenagers. James made to pull her away, but she held up a hand in warning. Combating Sirius' glower with a glare of her own, she said calmly, "Now, Sirius, Remus is right. It wasn't our faults that Voldemort decided to kill James and I or that Peter was a Benedict Arnold."

"A Bene-who?" asked Calenna.

"Nevermind. The point is, we shouldn't blame ourselves. Listen to Remus, please. He's talking sense," she concluded definitively, rejoining James on the floor.

Sirius bowed his head in shame. "I'm sorry, mate," he said sincerely.

"Apology unneeded, Padfoot," responded Remus warmly, jumping in surprise when Sirius rapidly stepped behind James and pulled him into a brief but touching hug before darting back to his seat next to a proud looking Hermione.

"Oh, boys," sighed Mariella. Calenna giggled and enveloped Remus in an embrace as well, grinning when he practically melded himself into her arms.

James coughed pointedly, spurring Hermione back into action. "The next time I encountered Remus was in my fifth year. He had joined the newly reformed Order of the Phoenix along with many original members as well as Ministry Aurors working as double agents." At the confused gazes from her friends, she hastened to explain. "The Ministry didn't believe that Voldemort had returned. They didn't think there was enough evidence, and that Harry and Dumbledore were daft in believing so."

"Bloody Ministry," cursed James.

"Was I there when Sirius died?" asked Remus cautiously, hoping his question wouldn't offend anyone.

"Yes, you were," she responded weakly, drawing comfort from Sirius' cool hand in hers. "While working for the Order, you met a clumsy witch named Nymphadora Tonks."

"Nymphadora... that's my cousin! Her mum, Andromeda, is my first cousin! I think she's turning five soon," exclaimed Sirius ecstatically.

"You arsehole! Hermione is implying that Remus dated or possibly married this... tart!" spat Calenna crossly.

At Calenna's words, Remus blushed; Sirius looked horrified; Lily, Mariella, and even Hermione laughed; and James just seemed impressed.

"That's disgusting, Moony. She's thirteen years younger!" sniped Sirius hotly.

"Oh, Padfoot, relax and stop whinging," laughed James. "Moony needed some loving and -"

"Stop talking, James," ordered Lily. "Hermione, please _keep_ talking."

"Remus, being the noble git he is, rejected all of Tonks' advances initially because, and I quote, he was 'too old, too poor, and too dangerous'," sighed Hermione.

"I kind of feel bad for this girl," noted Calenna musingly. "Remus tells me he's too dangerous at least twice a day, maybe even more. At least I don't have the other two factors working against me."

Hermione laughed. "You won't feel bad for her long, Callie. Late in my sixth year, Remus finally gave into his feelings, and soon enough, they got married. And then she got pregnant."

"W - wh – what?" she stuttered amidst laughter from the others.

"I'm sorry?" Remus lamely offered, but beneath the weak apology Hermione saw a flicker of fear flit across his face, and she already knew what the sudden fright concerned: he was frightened that the child he would probably never have had inherited his lycanthropy.

Speaking before Calenna could snap back, Hermione gently added, "You named him Teddy, and he was a Metamormagus, like his mother. Not a werewolf, like his father, although we would have all loved him if he was."

"Teddy, that's such a cute name!" crooned Lily.

"Yeah, Moony, cute name," agreed Sirius sardonically. "Ted is her dad's name, so that's probably where you got it from."

"Anything else, Hermione?" Remus asked loudly, thundering over anymore cooing from Mariella and Lily, teasing from Sirius and James, and jealous jabberings from Calenna.

"Yeah, actually, there is something else," she admitted wearily, rubbing her eyes, dreading having to ruin the easy going feel that the room had gained.

"We both die, don't we? Nymphadora and I," he surmised wisely. The speed at which all talking ceased was unsettling.

"Yes," breathed Hermione, choosing not to skirt around the truth. "At the Battle of Hogwarts."

"We all die. The Marauders, I mean. And Lily," lamented Sirius, laughing bitterly.

"Padfoot..." began James, but Remus hindered him from speaking as he stood up, looming tall and dark against the firelight.

"We might have all died in the time that Hermione formerly knew. But here we are now, fighting, alive and well. We shouldn't mourn deaths that have not happen, and, if I have anything to say about it, won't happen. I can't say it for myself, but I will make sure that every single one of you lives."

"Don't say th-"

"Don't say what, Mariella? That I would die for you lot? Because I would. A hundred times over if I had to."

"Oh, Remus," was all Calenna could say brokenly before she dissolved into body wracking sobs, leaving Remus to easily lift the slender girl into his lap as he returned to his seat on the couch. Whispering softly in her ear, he kissed the top of her head repeatedly, rocking her in a soothing motion.

Hermione tried valiantly not to succumb to the confusing deluge of emotions riddling with her mind and making her want to weep like an infant. Unfortunately for her, Sirius made the mistake of mumbling in her ear, "I hope you know I would happily die for you, love." That was all it took for her to shed the first stream of tears, and it wasn't long before Sirius had swept her into his arms and comforted her similarly to how Remus tenderly consoled to both Calenna _and,_ if what she saw out of the corner of her bleary eye was correct, Mariella as well. Lily and James seemed to have slipped covertly from the room.

It was twelve midnight when Calenna, Mariella, and Remus finally Apparated to their respective homes, leaving after increasingly tearful goodbyes and many whispered promises to be safe. Lily had already been planning on staying the night in the additional bed in Hermione's guest room, so it was after a bout of unsuccessful, forced small talk in the sitting room that the girls retired to bed.

However, after an hour of fitful tossing and turning in a pointless attempt to discover a comfortable position, Hermione came to terms with the fact that she was getting no sleep. Confessing everything she knew to the Marauders and her girl friends was as therapeutic as it was heartbreaking, but the purposeful resurfacing of all of those horrid memories caused them to play like a film in Hermione's brain every time her eyes fell shut. Sighing, she glanced over at Lily, who she was surprised to see was still wide awake, the waxing gibbous moon outside reflected in her open green eyes. Hermione felt a twinge of pain for Remus; the full moon was soon approaching.

Although Hermione's movement was slow, Lily heard the sound and met Hermione's wide brown eyes, communicating their feelings purely through the look in the others' eyes. They seemed to come to a silent agreement, and nodded imperceptibly. In identical motions, both girls pulled back their bedcovers and slipped into their dressing gowns before exiting the room. Lily walked further down the hallway, while Hermione needed only to turn to the next door over.

Without knocking, Hermione quietly pushed the door open, wincing when it creaked. She jumped when she saw Sirius sitting up in bed, clothed in only a thin T-shirt and a freshly laundered pair of pajama bottoms.

"Can't sleep?" he asked. At Hermione's nod, he smiled. "Come here, love." Without waiting for a further invitation, Hermione padded across the room and under the covers Sirius had pulled back, shivering pleasantly as he joined her beneath them. Uncertainly, she nestled her head in his neck, and he cautiously entangled their legs, not wanting to overstep any boundaries.

"Is this okay?" he questioned unsurely.

"This is perfect," she sighed in relief, her lips brushing his neck, arranging Sirius' arm so that it draped snugly over her waist.

"Well, if you wanted to get in my bed, Hermione, all you had to do is ask," he teased cheekily.

Hermione flicked his nose, looking up at him. "This is the only way I would be able to sleep, so don't flatter yourself too much."

Sirius suddenly grew solemn, the mirth alighting his stormy grey eyes vanishing. "What you did tonight was very brave, Hermione. I'm not sure that I would have been able to do it," he said, brushing their noses together.

"Trust me; it was hard, Sirius. Seeing your reactions... it was painful," she admitted, closing her eyes.

"All it did was make us more determined than before," he insisted gently. "And now you're not alone with your knowledge of the future. Life should be just a bit more easy now."

"Just a bit?" she asked, her mouth quirking into a smile.

"Just a bit," he agreed, laughing.

"Good night, Sirius," she said, kissing him deeply before leaning her head against his chest contentedly.

"Good night, Hermione."

"Sirius?" she mumbled, on the cusp of dreamland.

"Yes, love?"

"I would happily die for you, too," she muttered before relenting to the alluring lull of sleep.

* * *

**A/N: **Thoughts? The next chapter will be much shorter, that's for sure. Please review! =]


	22. Attack

**A/N: **Hello! Thanks, as usual, to everyone who reviewed/favorited/story alerted! Updates will probably be coming slow since school is right around the corner, but I'm a procrastinating bum when it comes to schoolwork so it might just mean even faster updates! My mind works in weird ways. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 21 - Attack**

Sirius smiled halfheartedly against Hermione's curly haired head, his senses assaulted by the strawberry scent of her shampoo, wishing that sleep could claim him as readily as it had Hermione. His stormy eyes stung with fatigue and his body ached, yet he couldn't give himself over the blissful darkness of sleep.

He blamed the jumbled, mixed up thoughts clogging every bit of his mind. The haunted, detached look in Hermione's expressive eyes as relayed a particularly painful memory or fact, the sight of his friends crumpling in sorrow, and, most poignantly, the horrors he had discovered swirled in his brain so incessantly that sleep evaded him almost resolutely.

He felt anguish and fury boil in the pit of his stomach as his mind fabricated images of a dead James and Lily, dead at the hand of Voldemort because of the betrayal of someone he had once counted as a immeasurably trustworthy friend. Sirius struggled to quell the itchy prickling behind his eyes, violently rubbing his lids with his free hand. Unfortunately for him, his efforts to clear his mind only caused more unsettling, dreadful ideas to spring up: trusty, studious, never-hurt-a-fly Moony, left alone for all those years, only to be murdered in battle when he finally began a family; and James and Lily's son raised in a loveless, parentless home.

His heart clenched as he realized that he _couldn't_ have possibly filled in the irreplaceable place as Harry's parent, not because he was incapable, but because he had been incarcerated. _How could he have been so stupid as to go after Peter?_ But the answer revealed itself to him almost instantaneously: Grief had consumed him. All rational thought had died when James and Lily did. To his dismay, Sirius realized that he would done the same now if it had happened again, but his head seemed to pound and the room appeared to have gone fuzzy at the mere thought of losing Prongs and his fiery girlfriend.

Hermione wiggled slightly in his cool embrace, her side molding into his body seamlessly as she sighed in her sleep. His thoughts were averted from the death and doom that had been his and his friends' destiny to the peacefully slumbering witch in his arms. She looked ethereal at rest; her unruly mane formed a haphazardly styled halo around her pale face, the contrast of color making her skin glow in the darkness. The omnipresent worried crease was absent from her brow and her lips were unpursed; for once, she looked younger than her nineteen years.

While the anguish and fury still churned in his stomach, guilt and sadness for Hermione settled heavily on his chest, still mentally berating himself for losing his temper with her earlier. He was cursing his uncontrollable temper, along with the rampant stubbornness that seemed to accompany it, when a muffled voice startled him from his self-depreciating string of thoughts.

"Go to sleep," ordered Hermione, the authority in her voice lessened by both its faint volume and its grogginess.

Sirius' eyebrows rose in bewilderment. "How could you tell that I'm awake?" he asked lowly, audibly puzzled.

Hermione turned her head with a dramatic sigh, her eyes heavily lidded in her half-awake state.

"Your chest does not make for a comfortable pillow if it's tense and stiff," she deadpanned.

He smiled. "I'll try to relax for you, love," he conceded, shifting gingerly so that he was comfortably laying his back, maneuvering accordingly so that Hermione was nestled into his side, her head still on his chest.

He felt her nudge his leg with her toe. "Relax for you, not for me," she mumbled tiredly, absently encasing her legs around him.

"Uh, love, I'm not sure if I can fall asleep with you wrapped so suggestively around me," laughed Sirius, head thrown against his pillow in mirth.

Hermione gasped, hitting him on the shoulder before lowering her legs. "Sorry," she muttered, face burning as she blinked the sleep from her eyes.

"No, no, no, go back to bed, Hermione, I'm fine," said Sirius coaxingly, even going as far as to gently closing her lids with his fingers.

But Hermione stubbornly shook her head, propping herself up on her arm. "I'm not going back to bed until you're sleeping," she insisted, fixing him with a steely stare.

"You're impossible," he sighed, shaking his head in mock exasperation. In reality, the concern she was displaying for him made his heartbeat quicken and a strong surge of affection for the bushy haired witch pervade his senses.

She expertly raised an eyebrow, her gaze dangerous. "_I'm _impossible? You're quite stubborn yourself, mister," she scoffed, rolling her bleary eyes.

"Fair point." He settled himself deeper under the fluffy comforter, a sense of peace fluttering over his heart when Hermione neatly tucked the blankets around the both of them as she returned to her former position.

"Go to sleep, Sirius," she repeated in a whisper, placing a light kiss on his neck.

This time, he listened to her, and let the overwhelming darkness consume him.

* * *

Sirius awoke the next morning to the serene sight of a dozing Hermione, her mouth slightly ajar as she snuggled deeper in his arms. He grinned sleepily, eyes blinking lazily before leaning down to pepper kisses on her forehead, cheeks, and chin, laughing to himself when her nose wrinkled in disgruntlement.

"How are you up before me?" she asked in a voice hoarse from sleep. "Last time I checked, a dragon could be spitting fire on your bed and you wouldn't even stir."

He kissed her scrunched up nose. "Well, you're violent in your sleep. You cuffed me in the head at least three times," he lied, chuckling when she scowled in disagreement.

"I do not punch in my sleep," she grumbled, mowing a hand through her knotted hair.

The motion didn't go unnoticed by Sirius. "Need me to work my magic on your hair again?" he asked jokingly, leaning over Hermione to fetch his wand from the desk.

"Please," she sighed, letting her hand fall lamely to the side. "I can't bear the thought of having to yank a brush through this bird's nest."

"It's a charming bird's nest," noted Sirius, his eyes twinkling as he muttered the incantation. Her hair remained as voluminous as before, but the tangled quality disappeared.

"Thanks," she breathed with a smile, giving him a kiss on the cheek before plucking her legs from the bed and standing up. "I should probably go before James' parents decide to come in and see if you're awake."

Sirius shook his head. "They know better than to attempt to wake me. Stay," he suggested softly, linking their fingers together.

"And do what? It's too late to go back to sleep," Hermione pointed out, gesturing at the window.

Sirius shrugged. "We can cuddle," he suggested, uncharacteristically blushing when Hermione burst into peals of laughter.

"The masculine, manly Sirius Black wants to cuddle? I never would have guessed," she choked out, still chuckling.

He pouted. "Well, I don't want to cuddle with you _now_ if you're going to take the mickey out of me."

Hermione rolled her eyes. With a sigh, she crawled back onto the bed, wrenching Sirius' crossed arms open. "Don't be a spoilsport. I'll cuddle with you, you mangy mutt."

"I resent that," he grumbled in mock anger, reluctantly drawing Hermione close, burying his face in her neck. "You smell nice. Like a field of strawberries," he mumbled sleepily. He wasn't sure what compelled him to say that, but then again, being with Hermione caused him to say things he didn't know he had been thinking.

This, however, was almost too much for Hermione to bear. She threw her head against the pillows in uncontrolled amusement, her hearty chuckles bubbling in her stomach almost painfully.

Sirius suddenly glanced up from his position under Hermione's chin, the affection in his eyes causing Hermione to falter in her giggling. "What?" she asked perplexedly, a faint smile still on her lips. She was becoming slightly unnerved by the intensity of his gaze, an inevitable blush coloring her face.

"I've never seen you laugh so... freely," he mused, a finger absently trailing lightly over the pink silk of her dressing gown.

She gave him a noncommittal shrug, biting her lip in uncertainty. "I guess I feel happier today. Like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders," she answered quietly, wide brown eyes connecting with piercing gray ones. Hermione kept them unblinkingly trained on his as she saw them gravitate closer, Sirius' hand leaving her arm in favor of her pink tinted cheek.

His movements too agonizingly slow, Hermione impatiently met him halfway and caught his lips with hers, her hands grazing his arms and shoulders before fisting his hair. She wasn't sure when or even why the sudden passion sprang up between the two of them, but for once she shoved all questions aside and allowed herself to enjoy the kisses that sent jolts up her spine, the soft caresses that made her heart speed up dangerously, and the feel of his body against hers.

When oxygen became scarce in their lungs, Sirius trailed fluttering kisses downwards, suckling the hollow of her neck before nibbling at her collarbone. She sharply gasped when his hand ghosted over her nightshirt before snaking underneath it, his lightly wandering fingers leaving a trail of fire in their wake. All inhibition seemingly absent from Hermione's keen mind, she found herself tugging at Sirius' shirt in a desperate bid to rid it from his body.

And then someone knocked loudly on the door.

"Sirius, dear, breakfast is on the table," rang out the kindly voice of Mrs. Potter, muffled by the wooden door separating them.

With a surprised squeak, Hermione twisted out of Sirius' arms, tumbling to the floor in her haste to escape. Sparing Sirius a fearful glance, she Disapparated with a _crack!_

"Is everything alright in there, Sirius?" asked Mrs. Potter, audibly alarmed.

Sirius hurriedly straightened his lopsided shirt and shook his hair back into its normal, unruffled state. "Yeah, everything's fine, Mrs. P. Just dropped my, uh... Potions book," he fabricated, hitting himself on the forehead in exasperation. He was normally an extremely skilled liar, but he'd be lying if he said thoughts of Hermione weren't making his brain hazy.

"Okay, if you say so," said Mrs. Potter, sounding unconvinced. "Just be swift. Your eggs are getting cold." Sirius sighed in relief as he heard her soft footsteps head towards Hermione's door, thanking Merlin that she had woken him first. The Potters were incredibly lenient and understanding when it came to most issues, but he wasn't sure how his surrogate parents would react if they had discovered Hermione and him in so suggestive a situation.

Heaving another sigh, Sirius swung his legs out of bed and made quick work of fixing his bedclothes and pillows in a semi-orderly fashion, a smile involuntarily working its way onto his face when he caught Hermione's strawberry scent lingering in the air.

* * *

"Sirius, duck!" squealed Hermione quickly, dodging the icy, white, tightly packed ball James had hurled their way.

"ARGH!" he shouted, springing aside agilely. The snowball managed to clip him on the shoulder as he tumbled next to Hermione, who was laughing at his dramatics in the safety of their magically constructed snow fort.

"The way you jumped you'd think James was throwing a Dungbomb at you. It's just a snowball, Sirius," said Hermione superiorly, twirling her wand to compact the glittering snow into a neat pile of snowballs.

Sirius scoffed. "I'd like to see you endure one of James' shots. He's a bloody Chaser, for Merlin's sake," he sighed, painstakingly brushing the snow off of his shoulder.

"Come out and face me, pansies!" came James' jeering yell across the expanse of the large, snow-covered yard of the Potter Manor.

Hermione couldn't have resisted accepting the boys' pleas for a snowball fight; the yard looked simply gorgeous. Icicles hung from the leaf-barren trees, the undisturbed snow radiated peacefulness, and the lightly drifting flakes only increased the loveliness of the picture. Now, however, the yard resembled a warzone in which snowballs were the weapons and there were only two enthusiastic male soldiers.

"Oh, I'll get that git," grumbled Sirius, ignoring Hermione's amused titter and the roll of her eyes. Sirius had only raised his head from the protection of the fort when an army of snowballs rammed into his face, coating his dark locks with melting ice and water.

"NOT THE HAIR, YOU BASTARD," roared Sirius, shaking his head like a wet dog. "YOU NEVER AIM FOR THE HAIR!"

"Who messed up Princess Sirius' hair?" yelled a feminine voice from the area of the house. Feeling Hermione shoot up beside him, Sirius spotted a radiant Mariella waving at them, her long, curly blonde tresses covered by a pink knitted hat with earflaps. Calenna stood next to her, tugging her cloak tightly around her as if it was threatening to fly away.

"Oi! It's _Queen_ Sirius," hollered James in joking response, ducking when a block of snow was sent flying at his face. "Nice try, Padfoot," smirked James, sprinting over to where the girls were standing, Sirius swiftly on his heels.

Lily suddenly popped up from behind the towering fort. "Yeah, just leave me here Potter!" she shouted, stomping over to Hermione, her dark red hair waterlogged.

"Boys," she grumbled at the bemused bookworm.

"I think they're quite endearing," mused Hermione, hooking arms with Lily as they leisurely trekked towards the warm, dry house where the others had congregated.

Lily eyed Hermione questioningly. "You seem very airy today," she examined, mystified.

The other girl shrugged but didn't say anything.

"Are you going to tell me what's up or am I going to have to get it out of you?" asked Lily in mock threat.

Hermione snorted but acquiesced, "I suppose I feel a bit more… light hearted after last night. I originally had promised myself that I wouldn't speak of anything from my past, but I finally figured out it was for the best."

"Stubborn Hermione admitted we were right?"

Hermione scoffed. "You're quite obstinate yourself, Lily."

Lily narrowed her eyes and wrinkled her nose in disagreement but didn't comment.

Finally reaching the glass sliding door, Hermione glanced into the room. James and Mariella were conversing excitedly at something, presumably Quidditch judging by their flailing arms. Calenna was hooking her cloak up on the coat stand, a far off look in her eyes. Sirius, however, was nowhere to be found.

Hermione opened her mouth to question Lily quizzically, but the words hadn't even exited her mouth when she felt something icy collide lightly with the back of her head, freezing cold liquid dripping under her clothes and down her back. She gasped, whipping around angrily, only to see Sirius dashing across the yard, laughing as he ran.

She felt her sopping wet hair in silent, bewildered shock before her mouth thinned in anger. Lily smirked in quiet amusement, waiting patiently for the explosion. She wasn't disappointed. "SIRIUS BLACK I AM GOING TO STRANGLE YOU WITH MY SCARF!" bellowed Hermione, hurtling after her boyfriend.

"It's just a snowball, Hermione!" he quoted her in a shout, his cloak fanning behind him as he sped away.

Hermione caught up to him easily, pretending the stitch in her side wasn't there. She pounced on him, barreling him over, landing in the thick, firm snow.

"Gotcha," she breathed, biting her lower lip as he raised his eyes to hers.

They heard Lily coo over the whistling wind, then the opening and slamming of the door.

"I think I love the snow," laughed Sirius.

Hermione grinned. "I think I have to agree with you there," she said softly, allowing him to connect their lips in a sweet, chaste kiss.

* * *

After greeting Calenna and Mariella with a quick hug and 'hello' each, Hermione excused herself and slowly made her way up the steps, her body aching from the spill she took with Sirius and shivering from the bitter cold. While the snow battle was some of the most fun she'd had in a long time, she couldn't help resenting the soggy, painful feeling that resulted.

Reaching the crisply warm guest room, she had only just removed her slippery boots when a sharp tapping sounded on her window. Her head shot up rapidly, the snow clinging to the curly strands raining down around her, but she paid them no mind.

A regal-looking tawny owl was impatiently rapping against the window, a folded square of parchment attached to its leg. Hermione's heart raced; who could be trying to contact her? Keeping a level head despite her quickening heartbeat, she crossed the room in less than a second and unclasped the lock on the window, gazing down at the owl in trepidation as it swiftly landed on her bed. It was with shaking hands that she removed the letter, barely flinching when the owl suddenly took flight and exited the room.

Hermione felt all color drain from her face as she automatically took in the eerily familiar, meticulously neat handwriting; the same handwriting as the first ominous, anonymous note.

_Be prepared. They are coming soon. _

Perplexity was mingled with the fear in her gut. It was a not a letter threatening to tell Voldemort of her knowledge of the Horcruxes. It was a very vague warning. A pressing matter weighed in her thoughts; should she tell the others, like she had promised Sirius that morning in the Room of Requirement? Or should she employ her often times fleeting acting skills and feign the same minimally stressed attitude she'd been flaunting all day?

The answer was blatant: she would have to reveal the secret note. How could she leave them in dark when something bad, something _dangerous_, was going to occur?

Hermione sighed. Placing the letter on her desk, she quickly shrugged off her cloak and scarf and changed into another pair of jeans and a cable knit jumper. She realized that she could have easily got rid of the damp coldness of her clothing with a Drying Charm, but her mind was on a nervous overdrive.

Tucking the note into her jeans pocket, Hermione made her way back downstairs, mowing an anxious hand through her hair.

Hermione had only just stepped foot in the dining area when Lily demanded, "What happened?"

The others immediately fixed Hermione with apprehensive stares, visibly befuddled at Lily's sudden question.

"Is there something up, Hermione?" asked Calenna tremulously. Sirius had rushed to Hermione's side and was clutching her quivering hands.

"Yes, there is something wrong," she admitted, absently allowing Sirius to lead her to the table, sitting numbly across from a wide-eyed Mariella and a frazzled James. Lily hastened to Hermione's side of the table. Wrenching a hand from Sirius' tight grasp, she pulled the note from her pocket and, licking her lips, handed it to him.

He blanched. "What do you think it means?" he asked her, breaking the tense silence that had settled in the room.

"What does what mean?" pressed Lily before Hermione could answer.

Annoyance flickered in Sirius' eyes, but Hermione replied before he could get irritable, "I got a note last week. The writer knows about the Horcruxes." Her voice was quiet and shaky.

Lily spoke over James' groan and the other girls' gasps, "So you didn't tell us because you didn't want to make a big deal out of it, I suppose?" asked Lily dryly.

"What would you have done, Lily?" interjected Sirius testily.

"Oi, watch your voice with Lily!" said James loudly, glaring at his best friend.

"Stop fighting!" yelled Mariella, banging a fist on the table. Her calm, quiet composure seemed to have slipped in light of the note and the uncharacteristically raised voices. When her demand was met with silence, she continued in a quelling voice, "Good. Now, what does the note say, Hermione?"

"'Be prepared. They're coming soon'," recited Hermione, directing her eyes to Lily's fearful ones; she had seemed the most angered, albeit a controlled upset, at the secrecy of the notes.

James, who couldn't stand the silence or the stillness of the room, left, mumbling 'I should send Moony an owl'. Hermione was compelled to ask as to why Remus was absent, but she already knew the answer; the full moon was tonight, and it was too dangerous and too taxing on his body for him to visit. The mere magic that Apparating entailed would be too much on him.

The rest of the day was spent inside the home, in the sitting room that they had held last night's long, emotionally draining meeting. The same anxiety and nervousness emanated from each of its occupants as they discussed what the note could possibly mean.

"Who's 'they'?" asked James for the tenth time, his hands raking his messy hair. "The author should have been bloody specific."

"We're lucky they even warned us at all, James," pointed out Lily snappishly. The tense redhead seemed to have also acquired a nervous habit of playing with her hair. She couldn't stop twisting it in her hands, a paranoid energy radiating from her.

"I'm more concerned as to _who's_ sending the notes and how the hell they even know about the Horcruxes," said Sirius darkly.

"Well, the Chudley Cannons will win the Quidditch World Cup before we figure out any of those details," said Mariella bluntly.

"Hermione? What do you think?" asked Calenna in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. Her apparent worry for Remus combined with the severity of the situation had seemed to quell her usually bouncy personality. The others swiveled to look at the silent girl, her eyes two dark brown slits in her concentration and her lips twisted to the side.

"There's not much we can do," she answered solemnly, shaking her head. "James, is your house protected by any enchantments?"

He nodded. "It's Unplottable. My dad's the Secret Keeper. He cast the Fidelius Charm around the time Voldemort first rose to power, " he replied, fidgeting in his seat. "Shouldn't we be safe then? I mean, maybe this bloke is warning us about something that is going to happen in the future and we're worrying for no bloody reason!"

Lily sighed sadly. "Even then, we'll have to always be on our toes," she said softly, squeezing James' shoulder in comfort.

"We'll be fine. We'll combat what ever gets thrown at us," intoned Sirius forcefully, pulling Hermione closer to him while gazing at the others determinedly.

Mariella smiled. "I hope you're right, Queen Sirius."

* * *

"How do you feel?" Sirius asked Hermione later that night, long after their friends had left and they were in bed once more, limbs delightfully overlapping and hands lightly clasped.

Hermione took a shaky breath. "Honestly… I'm quite scared," she admitted, twisting his fingers with her own in a ploy to distract herself.

Sirius kissed her temple, her long hair tickling his cheek. "You seem a bit distracted yourself, Sirius," she continued perceptively.

He sighed. "I just hate when the full moon is over Christmas break. Moony has to go through his night alone, biting himself without us there to restrain him."

"He'll be fine," soothed Hermione. "Before we know it, he'll be Apparating over here again and quelling all of our fears, like always…" she trailed off, a note of hopefulness in her voice.

This seemed to mollify Sirius a little. "You're right. Of course you are," he said, talking more to himself than Hermione. Suddenly, he laughed. "Weird how a note can ruin your whole holiday, isn't it?"

Hermione couldn't see what was amusing about this when she'd had stranger things ruin her day, week, and month, but she understood that laughing was one of the ways Sirius coped with things.

They drifted off to sleep during the brief lapse of speech, both of them hoping against hope that everything would work out for the best.

The following week positively crawled by. Days in which Lily and the other girls came over were easier than the ones spent among only James, Sirius, and Hermione. Feeling that it was his duty to make sure that everyone was happy, James started pretending that the note's warning wasn't looming over them like a violent storm cloud; instead, he acted more unruly and rambunctious than usual, dragging Sirius aside to plot pranks for when they returned to school or sparking numerous snowball fights.

Hermione was most content in the Potters' enormous, well-stocked library. She easily finished the essays, worksheets, and readings that their professors assigned over the holiday, and began researching curse breaking with the knowledge that it would be a big part of finding the ring Horcrux.

It wasn't until New Years Eve that Remus was finally well enough to traverse to Potter Manor again, although this time he Flooed over rather than Apparated. Sirius and James caught him as he stumbled from the fire grate, thumping him on the back in excitement, then rapturously apologizing when Remus winced in pain. The lycanthrope looked a little worse for wear, and a fresh scar on his neck was thrown into sharp relief by the electric green flames.

It wasn't until Lily arrived that Mr. and Mrs. Potter appeared in the sitting room doorway, swathed in fancy, and elegantly designed dress robes.

"Will you lot be alright for the night? Emma and I have to attend a Ministry ball to ring in the New Year," announced Mr. Potter gruffly, sounding as if he'd rather do anything but go to the celebration.

Hermione and Lily exchanged looks of strained worry, their eyebrows creased and faces pale. Even Remus appeared apprehensive about the Potters leaving the house unattended for the night. James, however, bid them goodbye with a natural ease, his arm casually draped a stiff Lily as he reclined on the loveseat.

"Don't look like they just signed our death sentences," said Sirius calmly.

Remus sighed exasperatedly. "How can you be so relaxed, Sirius? This might be the night they were waiting for."

"There goes the word 'they' again. Who's 'they'?"

"James, we don't know who 'they' is," Lily answered tensely through gritted teeth.

Sirius laughed. "I don't think that was grammatically correct, Lils."

"That's besides the bloody point!" shrieked Lily.

An eruption of noise from the fireplace caused all of them to wrench their wands from their robes. Green flames sprang up in the grate, only to reveal the head of a spluttering Calenna.

"Merlin, Callie. Way to make us all wet ourselves," cried James, shoving his wand back into his pocket. Remus had limped to the grate as quickly as his sore limbs would let him.

"Remus!" she exclaimed, ignoring James. "Oh, you look terrible! Ugh, why didn't you let me go over the day after? I could have took care of you," she said sullenly, her nose crinkling.

"Thanks for the compliment," answered Remus dryly, kneeling down next to the fire, seemingly failing to hear the rest of her statement. "Why aren't you and Mariella here?" he asked, concern seeping into his tone. The others had joined him by the grate, anxiety written across the faces of Lily and Hermione.

"I can't make it, I'm afraid," replied Calenna ruefully. "My mom came down with some kind of stomach flu and my dad is dreadful at helping anyone who's remotely ill, so that duty has fallen to me."

Remus frowned. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked.

"She'll be fine. Also, Mariella can't make it either. She owled me asking me to tell you lot."

"What's her excuse?" asked Sirius curiously.

"I think Ms. Sly Devil Mariella might have been caught stealing a snog with Mr. Hufflepuff in her bedroom. Something about 'they missed each other'. Her parents banned her from leaving the house for the rest of the holiday," said Calenna shrewdly.

The others couldn't help but laugh. "That's unfortunate," chuckled Hermione weakly.

"I know," giggled Calenna. "Remus, I'm sorry I couldn't be there. I really wanted to see you," she said softly, her gaze locked solely on him.

"What about the rest of us? Are we chopped boomslang skin?" muttered James to Sirius. Hurriedly quieting him, Lily dragged James and Sirius away from the fire to give the couple some privacy. Hermione followed the trio, joining Sirius on the sofa.

James and Sirius, being nosy friends, eyed the silent exchange in silent interest, cooing when Remus kissed Calenna lightly on the lips before she hollered a farewell and disappeared with a faint 'pop'.

Lily, who usually reveled in the precious moments between two of her most beloved friends, had a dark look on her face.

"What's wrong with you, Evans?" asked Sirius, snapping her out of her reverie.

She bit her lip before speaking, "Don't you think it's kind of a… bad omen that two of our number aren't here?"

Hermione spoke up, her heart hammering in her chest unpleasantly. "I actually agree with Lily. It just feels ominous and eerie that on the day James' parents leave us unattended, Mariella and Callie aren't coming," she said softly, her hands shaking.

"I never pegged the two of you for relying on Divination much," acknowledged Sirius, laughing slightly.

"It's not funny, Sirius," growled Lily.

"Lily and Hermione do have a point," intoned Remus solemnly, his face conveying that he was deep in thought. Sirius' smile faltered.

"Not you too, Moony," groaned James, his hands over his face in mock exasperation. "I'm starting to think that the note was just a general warning. Nothing specifically is going to happen."

Sirius nodded enthusiastically. Hermione felt anguished at their nonchalance, and she was sure Lily was feeling the exact same way. Remus was far too deep in his own mind to comment.

"How about I get us some butterbeers and we _relax_," suggested Sirius in a slow voice. "It is New Year's Eve after all." He heaved himself off of the settee without waiting for a response and positively pranced to the door. He hummed to himself as he grabbed two bottles of warm butterbeer from the pantry, and was about to reach for a third when a rough voice almost caused him to drop the two he was holding.

"You're sure this is the place, Rowle?" questioned the rough voice. The voice was right outside of one of the small kitchen windows. His heart pumping in his ears, Sirius crouched behind the nearest counter, his brain faintly working through the panic. He quietly placed the bottles on the floor, cursing the clinking of the glasses and his nervously heavy breathing.

The man called Rowle laughed cruelly. "That's what old Potter said, isn't it? After a few Crucios, that is." Sirius froze. If anything happened to James' parents… "I don't see how a few kids are any threat to us."

"Bellatrix said that they're dangerous. Especially that cousin of hers," growled the other man. Sirius' fingers wound around his only weapon at the indirect mention of him, straining to hear the Death Eaters over his violent heartbeat.

"Who even told her that? That fat lard of a boy that thinks he's a necessary part in the Dark Lord's operations?" asked Rowle, giving another humorless laugh.

"Pettigrew might come in handy one day," muttered Rowle's partner. Sirius almost dropped his wand. There it was. Proof that Peter Pettigrew, a boy he once considered one of his most trusted friends, had been cavorting with Death Eaters.

Although he felt the last vestige of hope that Peter might have still been good drain from him, it was replaced by cold-blooded fury and determination. Being careful not make a sound, Sirius crawled across the kitchen floor, praying that the two men wouldn't peer through the window. Moving as swiftly as he could, he finally reached the door and leaped to his feet, running to the sitting room in wild abandon.

"They're here!" he said loudly as soon as he reached the room, his face bloodless.

"You're joking," stammered James, clutching Lily to him. Hermione gasped.

"Are they in the house?" she asked, bounding over to Sirius in two long strides, her face set and determined. She was ready to fight.

"Not –" But Sirius' next words were drowned out by an explosion that made the entire sitting room quake. The Christmas tree tipped over and fell, shattering the glass coffee table in the center of the room. Hermione felt someone heave her behind the couch, the wind getting knocked out of her as she landed on top of Sirius in a heap, a shard of flying glass cutting into her arm.

"Are you okay?" rushed Sirius, his eyes wide.

"I'm fine," she said breathlessly, surveying her surroundings quickly. James, Lily, and Remus had thankfully jumped behind the sofa before too much damage could be inflicted on them. James' temple was bleeding copiously and Lily had a cut on her cheek, but Remus seemed fine.

"Prongs!" exclaimed Sirius, immediately climbing over Hermione to his friend. Lily, who was as white as a sheet, was embracing him desperately, her expression alarmed.

"I'm fine. Just got attacked by an ornament," he said, trying to laugh but only succeeding in grimacing.

Sirius' next words were drowned out by a voice.

"Where are you, children?" asked a cold, high, jeering voice. Hermione felt as if she had been dunked into an ice cold pool of water. She knew the owner of that voice. Its owner was the person who had rewritten her entire path in life, projecting her back in time.

"We have to get out of here," whispered Hermione, her panic written on her face.

"Where can we go?" asked Remus in an uncharacteristically fearful voice, jumping with the rest of them as another explosion sounded from the kitchen.

Thinking quickly, Hermione answered in a rush, "The Hogs Head in Hogsmeade. There, we can contact James' parents and Dumbledore. We need to Apparate directly into the pub," she ordered.

"REDUCTO!" The sudden shout resounded in the sitting room, catching all of them off guard. The spell caused the settee protecting them to erupt into pieces of flying fabric and cotton, the force of the explosion sending the five of them to fly in different directions. A scream ripped Hermione's throat as she landed in the Christmas tree wreckage, arms shielding her face, broken ornaments piercing her skin.

"Thought you'd hide behind the sofa like little babies, didn't you?" asked Rowle in the same taunting voice. Hermione heard a whimper from the direction of the now destroyed couch, spurring her into action. Trying with all of her strength to ignore the stabbing pain of the broken glass lodged in her arms, legs, and hands, she hefted herself up, pulling her wand out as she did.

"What do you want?" she asked in a voice that betrayed her fear despite her efforts to speak strongly.

"Hermione!" She heard James and Sirius shout but ignored them. It was her fault they got into this mess, and it was up to her to get them out.

Rowle examined her with a nasty look on his face, his wand pointing at her. "What makes you think I'd tell you, Mudblood?"

She scoffed, anger fueling her upsurge of courage. "When will you bigots learn that Mudblood isn't an offensive term? I am a Mudblood, and I'm proud of it!" said Hermione fiercely, her face taut in her defiance.

She sensed rather than saw the presence of the others as they formed a barrier around her, Lily hobbling a little, James white from the loss of blood, Sirius scraped and cut, and the sleeve of Remus' robes soaked with crimson.

"Well, isn't this cute," jeered the other Death Eater as he loped into the room. All of them recognized the twisted, pallid face of Antonin Dolohov, one of the most notorious Death Eaters. Even in the time before his brutal murder of the Prewett twins, he was known for his ruthless dueling. "The ickle children protecting their little ringleader."

"Age has nothing to do with skill," piped up Lily bravely, breathing heavily through her nose.

"And who might you be, beautiful?" asked Rowle interestedly, leering. They all involuntarily edged closer to Lily, James' hands shaking as he adjusted his grip of his wand.

"Lily Evans. Mudblood," she clarified, her determination emanating from her.

At this, Rowle's leer turned into a look of utter disgust, and he raised his wand imposingly. Acting with lightning fast rapidity, James leapt in front of Lily and yelled, "_Protego!_" The force of the spell sent Rowle flying backwards, slamming him into the wall. This seemed to be what the pair of Death Eaters were waiting for, because at that moment, Dolohov shouted, "_Incendio!_" The Christmas tree ignited, causing the group standing in front of it to scurry away from it, separating in their haste to flee from the burning tree. Hermione tripped over a fragment of the table, landing splayed on the floor, even more pieces of glass embedding them selves in her skin. The bright, colorful lights of colliding spells began erupting over her head, the sparks resembling a firework display in her pounding head.

In the utter disorganization of the fighting, Hermione heard a yell of "_Crucio!_" from Rowle, his wand trained on James. Barely giving herself time to think, Hermione launched herself off of the ground and in front of the line of fire, the spell connecting with her chest.

Even though she had endured the Unforgivable spell many times before, nothing could ever prepare her for the all encompassing, body wracking pain that ensued. The anguished, pained shouts of her name and the roaring and crackling of the burning tree were faint, her own, uncontrollable screams blocking them out. It felt as if the glass shards puncturing her had elongated and widened and were repeatedly stabbing her whole body.

It was over almost as fast as it began; the immense pain disappeared, leaving her sore and aching. Blinking away the tears building in her eyes, her vision cleared enough for her to see Sirius forgoing all use of his wand and pummeling Rowle in the face, and Remus dueling Dolohov, controlled and decisive in his counter curses. Lily was cowering in a corner with an unconscious James' head on her lap, his wound still spouting blood.

Her hurried survey of the room cost her. A jinx sailed underneath Remus' arm and struck her in the stomach, darkness immediately consuming her.

* * *

She awoke to the feeling of a lead blanket spread heavily on her body, numbness paralyzing her to the warm, stiff bed she was laid on. A faint pressure on her hand compelled her to open her eyes, and she had only glimpsed the white ceiling of the Hogwarts Hospital Wing before auburn hair obscured her vision. Lily was crushing her in a hug, her body wracking with what Hermione hoped were relieved sobs.

"Oh, thank Merlin you're awake," choked Lily, tears streaming down her face as she relinquished Hermione. "I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't."

"What happened, Lily?" questioned Hermione in a cracking, raspy voice that surprised her.

"Oh, it was terrifying, Hermione," she sobbed, gripping her hand. "James and you were both unconscious, but Sirius and Remus were able to Stun and bound both of the Death Eaters. The two of them managed to put out the fire, but the sitting room is completely charred and burned. Sirius took you to the Hogs Head by Side-Along Apparition, and Remus and I did it for James. The owner made us all go to the Hospital Wing while he contacted Dumbledore. I never saw Sirius so scared," she gasped for breath here, her eyes shut tightly at the memories. Hermione felt terrible for making her recant them.

"Both you and James were unconscious, bloody, and so, so pale. I know that Sirius wished that it was _him _that was hurt instead."

Hermione couldn't help but quietly ask, "How did you know that?"

Lily shook head to toe as she answered. "Because that's exactly what _I _was thinking." She took a rattling breath before continuing. "Madam Pomfrey came and patched up two up as best as she could, but kept both of you unconscious while you recuperated."

"How about Mr. and Mrs. Potter?" she asked hoarsely, fearing the answer with every fiber in her being.

Lily's lips trembled. "Dumbledore managed to find them. They're alive," she said, Hermione exhaling in relief. "But both of them were tortured. That's how they found out the location of the house. They tortured it out of them. They're both in St. Mungo's now."

"Where are the boys?" questioned Hermione, holding in the tears threatening to escape.

"James is at St. Mungo's with his parents, Remus was sent home, and Sirius -" Instead of continuing, she gestured to the bed behind her, where the boy in question was slumbering, a bandage covering his palm. "Madam Pomfrey forced him to take a Dreamless Sleep potion. He caused quite the fuss. He was going mad with worry and was getting a bit belligerent," she said, absently patting Hermione on the hand.

Hermione swallowed. "How about the Death Eaters?"

Lily looked distraught at this question. "They managed to escape. I don't know how. But when Dumbledore dispatched members of the Order of the Phoenix to the manor, they were gone."

Hermione nodded sadly, but froze when she saw Lily eyeing her arm, the arm forever marking her as a Mudblood, in alarm. "Who did that to you, Hermione?" she asked, a note of hysteria in her tone.

Hermione quickly covered her arm with the bed sheet, but the deed was done. She decided to tell Lily the truth. "I was tortured shortly before I came to this time. My torturer did this to me," she confessed, biting her lip.

Lily sighed in anguish. "Oh, Hermione. Does Sirius know?"

The curly haired girl shook her head. "He'd go mad," she whispered.

"But I'll try not to." Hermione and Lily started at the voice that issued from the next bed over. Sirius was sitting up, his legs swinging before he jumped down and walked over to Hermione's bedside. Lily hurriedly muttered something, excusing herself from the room. The huge oak Hospital Wing door thudded closed, clouding the two of them in silence.

Sirius stared unblinkingly into Hermione's eyes, his eyes soft with concern and – making Hermione's heart jump at the thought – love. His eyes never leaving hers, he reached beneath the blanket and, with gentle hands, pulled her arm out from its hiding place, his breath catching when he dropped his gaze to it.

"Who did this?" he asked, his voice deadly calm.

"The same person who tortured me in the future."

"You know what I mean."

"And you know I can't tell you who it was."

He looked apoplectic with rage, but it was a mark of his feelings for her that he managed to feel them silently.

"That Death Eater. The one you beat up tonight… he was the one who sent me back," she said, pulling him from his murderous thoughts.

"I guess it's good that I beat him up then," he said, laughing humorlessly.

She shivered when Sirius tenderly ran a finger along the grotesque scar. "You know that this doesn't matter, right?"

"What?" she asked confusedly.

"The fact that you're Muggleborn."

"Of course I know that, Sirius."

"Well, I thought you might have needed to hear it. That it doesn't matter if you were half-blood or even pureblood. I'd still… want to be in a relationship with you," he finished lamely, giving Hermione the sense that that wasn't exactly what he wanted to say, but it still made her heart speed up.

"Kiss me," she requested softly. Sirius wasted no time in obliging, kissing her like he never had before, the desperation and urgency conveying the fact that he thought he might have never been able to do it again, and Hermione couldn't help but share some of his feelings.

He finally pulled away when Hermione's lungs protested and her raw throat burned, only to climb into bed with her.

"But – Madam Pomfrey might –"

"Poppy loves me. Plus, she knows we can't get up to any fun stuff while you're injured," he whispered, pulling Hermione down beside him.

"Still," she protested anxiously, but she knew it was fruitless. There was no way that her paining limbs and thumping headache would allow her to fall asleep if Sirius wasn't sleeping alongside her.

To Sirius' delight, she stopped struggling and relented, gingerly adjusting her position so that they were lying face-to-face.

As she drifted off into sleep only moments later, she could have sworn she heard Sirius murmur the word 'love'.

* * *

**A/N: **Thoughts? Please review!


	23. PLEASE READ

I've been trying to figure out how to say this for a bit now, but I'm tired of putting it off again and again so I'm going to just say it.

I'm going on an indefinite hiatus. Not only with this story but with writing Harry Potter fanfiction in general.

I'm **really, really, really **sorry but there's just no inspiration left in me. I've tried to sit down and write and I've even reread my own story in hopes of claiming that inspiration again, but to no avail.

On top of that, being a senior in high school is 100x harder than I thought. Work-wise, things have been fine. Despite being in advanced courses, being a lazy bum means that I do minimal amounts of work. However, I'm trying to get a job as well as fulfill my school's 40 hour volunteer requirement, AND run a school club successfully, AND worry and piss over colleges and applications. Not only that, but other fandoms (well, one other fandom in particular) have sucked me and all of my friends into a bottomless pit, so Harry Potter inspiration is just absent everywhere. It's really a lost cause.

I'm sorry for the long-winded explanation, but I felt like you all deserved to know my reasons.

You guys have been the best readers a girl could ask for. Most of the comments were useful and helped me improve upon my writing technique, and I can't thank you all enough for supporting me.

I'm not saying that I'll never write for this fandom/this story again, but it's a slim chance, and the last thing I want to do is get all of your hopes up for no reason.

This might be the last time you'll ever hear from me, but thanks again for all your support. I never thought that when I posted my story it would be this well-received, and it only makes leaving it behind harder.

-Amanda


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